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BUJUMBURA, July 7 (AFP) - A court in the east African state of Burundi on Tuesday sentenced two people to death for their roles in armed attacks here and in the north of the country which led to hundreds of deaths last November.
Among the other accused, four were given life prison sentences and three 20-year terms.
The identities of those condemned was not revealed but an informed source said they all belong to the majority Hutu tribe.
The accused were arrested after armed attacks on November 23 and 24 in Bujumbura and in the north-west of the country by members of the Hutu People's Liberation Party.
At least 551 people died in the unrest, official sources said, although independent sources alleged that the resulting army repression led to a further 1,000 deaths.
The Hutu, the country's biggest tribe, complain that they are being repressed by the minority Tutsi, who hold most power in Burundi.
In neighbouring Rwanda, the majority Hutu have held power since the revolution of 1959 in which they destroyed the Tutsi feudal hierarchy.
It was the first time since 1983 that a death sentence had been ordered in the former Belgian colony.
str/cm/ds AFP AFP SEQN-0421
