3 killed in anti-govt protests in Burundi

BUJUMBURA

Three protesters were killed by gunfire on Monday in clashes with police forces during protests in capital Bujumbura against President Pierre Nkurunziza's bid for a third term in office, according to Burundi's Red Cross organization.

Some 45 people have also been hospitalized with injuries sustained during the clashes, Red Cross spokesman Alexis Manirakiza told The Anadolu Agency.

For his part, assistant police spokesman Pierre Nkurikiy declined to confirm or deny the casualties.

He, however, said that 15 policemen have been injured after protesters "hurled stones" at them.

Burundi has been rocked by protests since late April, when the ruling National Council for the Defense of Democracy (CNDD-FDD) named President Nkurunziza its candidate for June presidential polls.

Monday's fatalities raise the death toll to 13 – including two policemen - and 100 injuries since protests erupted in late April.

Around 400 people have also been put in jail since the protests broke out, according to figures by Burundian authorities.

The country's constitutional court is expected to rule on the eligibility of Nkurunziza – in power since 2005 – to contest the upcoming polls.

According to Burundi's constitution, the president can serve only two terms in office.

In late March, Nkurunziza proposed a constitutional amendment that would – if ratified – allow him to run for a third presidential term.

The move ignited controversy across the central African nation.

Despite parliament's rejection of the proposal, the bill, according to the country's laws, can still be brought before the assembly for a second vote.

Critics say a third-term bid by Nkurunziza would violate the terms of the 2000 Arusha agreement, which – along with ending a Hutu-Tutsi civil war – stipulated that Burundi's president should serve no more than two terms.