BUJUMBURA, Burundi — Burundi's government imposed a nationwide curfew Thursday as fighting between Hutu rebels and the Tutsi-dominated army continued for a fourth day in the capital of the central African nation.
At least three civilians were killed as rebels from the National Liberation Forces, or FNL, fired rockets and mortars into the capital and battled with army troops in Musaga, 2 miles south of the city center.
At the United Nations, the Security Council on Thursday called on the rebels to halt their offensive and enter serious negotiations with the government without delay.
Spain's U.N. ambassador, Inocencio Arias, who read the statement, said Security Council members want "to step up the pressure on the rebel groups" to comply with the cease-fire and support the peace process.
Army commander Gen. Gervais Niyoyankana said his troops had surrounded the rebels and sporadic fighting was taking place as soldiers tried to force the insurgents from the city.
Niyoyankana refused to say how army troops or rebels have been killed in fighting that erupted Monday when the rebels launched an attack on southern neighborhoods of Bujumbura.
On Wednesday, the army said 24 rebels had been killed.
In the latest wave of fighting, an unknown number of civilians have been killed and dozens of others wounded, with thousands forced to flee their homes. An Associated Press reporter saw three bodies in a street in the center of town on Thursday.
The International Committee of the Red Cross said in a statement that about 100 wounded civilians have been admitted to hospitals and "many" people killed.