BUJUMBURA
Four people were killed in Thursday clashes between opposition protesters and Burundian security forces – backed by members of the ruling party's youth wing – in capital Bujumbura, according to local sources.
Clashes erupted Thursday between Burundian security forces and supporters of President Pierre Nkurinziza on one hand and the latter's opponents on the other, local sources have said.
Eyewitnesses told The Anadolu Agency that a member of Burundi's ruling party had been burnt alive by angry anti-government protesters during the clashes in the capital Bujumbura.
A source from Burundi's Red Cross organization, meanwhile, told AA that an opposition protester had been killed and nine others injured after renewed clashes erupted between protesters and security forces, the latter of whom were backed up by members of the ruling party's youth wing.
Two other protesters were killed after grenades were hurled by Nkurinziza supporters at an opposition protest, eyewitnesses said.
Witnesses told AA that the clashes had broken out after a pro-Nkurinziza protester threw a hand grenade at a group of demonstrators, after which security forces began firing live ammunition into the crowd.
The Burundian government, for its part, has yet to comment on the incidents.
Burundi has been rocked by turmoil since late April, when the ruling National Council for the Defense of Democracy (CNDD-FDD) named Nkurunziza – in power since 2005 – its candidate for June presidential polls.
Burundi has been rocked by protest since late April, when the ruling National Council for the Defense of Democracy (CNDD-FDD) named Nkurunziza – in power since 2005 – its candidate for June presidential polls.
At least 18 people, including two policemen, have been killed – and more than 100 injured – since protests erupted in late April.
Around 400 people have also been jailed since the protests broke out, according to figures released by the Burundian authorities.
According to Burundi's constitution, the president can serve only two terms in office.
But in late March, in a move that ignited controversy across the central African nation, Nkurunziza proposed a constitutional amendment that would – if ratified – allow him to run for a third presidential term.
Despite parliament's rejection of the proposal, the bill, according to the country's laws, can be brought before the assembly for a second vote.
Critics say a third-term run 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 in office.
