"We will spare no effort to advance the peace process," Ndayizeye, a Hutu, said in his first speech to the nation, delivered shortly after he took over the presidency from Major Pierre Buyoya, a Tutsi.

The handover itself was a crucial provision of a 2000 accord signed by Burundi's politicians to distribute power more equitably between the dominant Tutsi minority and large Hutu majority in an effort to end a war that has killed 300,000 people since 1993.

The conflict pits a variety of armed Hutu groups against a Tutsi-dominated government army.

"We will implement policies that reassure all the people of Burundi," said the new head of state.

"Some have had doubts and are worried. We would like to comfort these people and reassure them, their security will be guaranteed," he said, alluding to fears in some Tutsi quarters of persecution under a Hutu presidency.

"We pledge to work closely with the vice president," he said. Under the terms of the power-sharing deal, that post, held by Ndayizeye for the last 18 months went to a Tutsi, Alphonse Marie Kadege.

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