BUJUMBURA • Burundi's army battled rebels for a third day running yesterday, in clashes that have killed 20 fighters and six soldiers, a military spokesman said. In some of the worst fighting in months, military helicopters were deployed to the outskirts of the capital Bujumbura on Friday against the rebel Forces for National Liberation (FNL), spokesman Colonel Adolphe Manirakiza said.

"We have been obliged to use strong means, because the FNL planned to attack different army bases," he said, adding that the situation was now calm.

The latest violence started on Thursday night when FNL rebels fired mortar bombs at government positions in Bujumbura, drawing return fire from the military. Manirakiza revised the previous death toll of 14 rebels and troops, saying 10 more FNL fighters and two soldiers were killed in clashes that continued until Saturday morning.

Much of the fighting centred on the FNL's Bubanza stronghold, 50km northwest of the capital. Political tensions have escalated in the tiny central African coffee-growing nation since July, when the FNL quit a team monitoring a 2006 truce and accused mediators of bias.

The Hutu FNL, which has launched sporadic attacks on military positions, did not confirm the new death toll, but accused the government of planning to wipe them out. "We are trying to defend ourselves against army raids, because the government planned to eliminate all FNL fighters," said FNL spokesman Pasteur Habimana from Dar Es Salaam.