Hardly any party in Burundi appears to be in a hurry for a settlement

Nelson Mandela

But the former South African president, who was speaking after a day of talks in Pretoria, said Burundi's political parties had agreed on the composition of a transitional government, which is due to be installed in the capital Bujumbura at the beginning of next month.

He accused the government and rebels of bringing gloom to the negotiations, which he characterised as "alarmingly slow, painful and costly".

Mr Mandela: The chief mediator in Burundi

Two rival Hutu rebel groups took part in the talks for the first time in years, but Mr Mandela said there was no agreement on a ceasefire.

Leaders from Rwanda, Burundi, Tanzania, Kenya and the Democratic Republic of Congo also attended the talks.

Burundian President Pierre Buyoya, a Tutsi, will lead the transitional government for the first 18 months, with a Hutu vice-president. The roles will be reversed for the second half of the three-year government.

But our correspondent in the Great Lakes says it is doubtful whether a transitional government can be viable without a ceasefire.

The summit also failed to agree on the size and composition of the special protection unit to ensure the safety of Hutu politicians returning from exile.

Without such a unit in place, many are not keen to return home.

Troubled history

Since the war started in 1993 some 200,000 people have died. A further 300,000 Burundians are in refugee camps in Tanzania.

Burundi is a former Belgian trust territory with a population of six million.

A coup attempt followed President Ndadaye's death in 1993

Since independence in 1961 it has held only one multi-party election.

That election brought in the first Hutu head of state, Melchior Ndadaye, and a parliament dominated by the mainly Hutu Frodebu party.

But within months, Ndadaye was assassinated by paratroopers, and the scene was set for years of often violent confrontation between the Hutu and Tutsi political classes.

Many members of the Tutsi elite, particularly in the armed forces, feared they would be swamped by full-scale democracy.

Some felt that only a power-sharing agreement with Hutus could protect them, while others simply did not want to surrender power.

Many Hutu politicians felt cheated because they had won the elections and their ethnic group represented an estimated 85% of the population.