Rebels in Burundi killed a provincial government official, his accountant and his driver when they machine-gunned his car near the town of Rumonge, around 70 kilometers (45 miles) south of here, national radio reported.
Four people, including a baby, escaped unhurt from the ambush, which took place at a bridge over the Dama river a kilometer (half a mile) from Rumonge in Bururi Province at 4:30 PM (1630 GMT) on Friday, the radio report said.
The official who died was identified as the provincial director for livestock and agriculture from neighboring Makamba province.
Security forces last Monday acted just in time to prevent another attack near Kabezi, about 20 kilometers (12 miles) from the capital, on the same National Highway 3, which runs along the shore of Lake Tanganyika for much of its length, a local police officer said.
On December 15, at least three people were killed, including a former interior minister, in a similar attack north of Bujumbura on National Highway 1.
Since 1993, more than 200,000 people have been killed in Burundi's civil war, which pits Hutu rebel groups against a government and army dominated by the small Tutsi minority.
A peace accord was signed on August 28 at Arusha, Tanzania, by 19 parties involved in the conflict, but was rejected by the two main Hutu rebel movements and fighting has persisted -- BUJUMBURA (AFP)
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