"They can come in and they would be allowed to participate in the elections. But they would have to abide by the conditions that exist now," said Zuma shortly after his arrival back in Pretoria from a two-day visit to Bujumbura.

"We want everybody in the process. But the room for negotiation is very limited now," said Zuma.

On Tuesday, Burundian presidential spokesman Pancrace Cimpaye said contacts had already taken place with the FLN to establish a negotiating framework and that peace talks were expected to take place in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania.

Six of seven anti-government rebel movements have signed ceasefires bringing permanent peace to the country which is still struggling to recover from an 11-year civil war that claimed more than 300,000 lives.

Peace has been restored in 16 of the small country's 17 provinces.

Only the FNL, declared a "terrorist group" by the Great Lakes nations in central Africa, has continued hostilities against government forces.

Zuma said he told regional leaders that the peace process in Burundi was "in a delicate stage like a woman in her ninth month of pregnancy."

"The mother is Burundi and the child is democracy," said Zuma.

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