RESIDENTS of the Burundian capital, Bujumbura, are bracing themselves for further attacks following the first outbreak of fighting in the city since last year.
Though the Tutsi dominated army insists it has pushed back the Hutu rebels who lobbed mortar rounds at the university on Tuesday, many believe that the city could soon be besieged in the manner of Sarajevo or Kabul.
Yesterday, a US aircraft landed at the airport to pick up all "nonessential" US citizens remaining in the capital. It was rumoured that ousted Hutu president Mr Sylvestre Ntibantunganya, who sought US diplomatic protection shortly before a military coup at the end of July, would be evacuated on the plane.
Violence has been escalating rapidly in the tiny central African nation since the army reinstalled Mr Pierre Buyoya, an ethnic Tutsi, as president six weeks ago. The main rebel group, the National Council for the Defence of Democracy (CNDD), already claims to be in control of the northern Kayanza region, the scene of heavy fighting in recent days.
The rebels' growing confidence has been demonstrated by their attack on a military post in the northern commune of Gahombo last Tuesday. Prior to this, they had restricted their operations to raids on Tutsi settlements and to ambushes on National Route One Burundi's main road which runs through Kayanza.
Tutsis make up about 15 per cent of Burundi's six million inhabitants, and Hutus about 85 per cent.
The CNDD, through its military wing, Forces for the Defence of Democracy (FDD), is fighting to overthrow the Buyoya regime which suspended parliament and all political parties on assuming power. Despite this week's mortar and heavy machinegun attack, the rebel group has denied that it intends to take the capital.
In an effort to defuse the rapidly deteriorating situation, Mr Buyoya has offered to talk to all armed groups opposing him if they guarantee to stop killing civilians. Previously, he had demanded that they lay down arms before any negotiations could begin.
"If their purpose is to seize power," a Western diplomat said, "the rebels will continue to fight. If what they want is power sharing, then they are nearly in a position to have their demands respected."
Mr Buyoya has also promised to restore an enlarged version of the national assembly this month and to reinstate political parties within three months. These are two of the conditions regional leaders say would have to be met for them to withdraw sanctions imposed on Burundi in the wake of the coup.
Fuel is now in short supply in Bujumbura as the economic blockade continues to strangle the country. Exports of tea and coffee, Burundi's main income earners, have been stalled by the embargo and many companies have had to lay off workers.
Hutu farmers coming into the now Tutsi town of Bujumbura to sell their produce are frequently turned back by the rebels. According to one report, peasants have had hands cut off for bringing foodstuffs into the market in the capital.