Burundi rebels ready to face international court

"We are never going to present ourselves in front of the Tutsi justice of Burundi... but we are ready to respond in front of an international tribunal," Pasteur Habimana, spokesman for the Hutu National Liberation Forces (FNL) told AFP by phone.

He said he backed the establishment of an "international tribunal which would judge all the crimes committed by Hutus and Tutsis in the region since the independence of Burundi" in 1962.

Burundi has issued international arrest warrants for Habimana as well as FNL leader, Agathon Rwasa for crimes against humanity and war crimes following the killings at Gatumba on August 13.

Burundi was plunged into civil war in 1993 when rebel groups drawn from the Hutu majority rose up against the government and army, then dominated by the Tutsis, who make up around 15 percent of the population.

The FNL is the last remaining Burundian rebel group still active.