May 07, 2015
BUJUMBURA, Burundi (AP) — Protesters searched for and assaulted people suspected to be members of the ruling party's violent youth group on Thursday as the upheaval against President Pierre Nkurunziza's bid for a third term persisted with three more people reported killed.
One man fled under a hail of stones and took shelter in a covered sewer until army troops arrived and dispersed the mob by firing into the air. In another neighborhood, a protester was killed in clashes with police and the Imbonerakure youth group.
One person was killed in Kinama Commune when protesters confronted a group of Imbonerakure members, caught one and burning him; and in Commune Nyakabiga, another man was killed by a mob which accused him of being a member of Imbonerakure, witnesses told journalists.
Three people were killed and 13 wounded in the day's violence, according to the Burundi Red Cross. Protesters want Nkurunziza to drop his re-election bid, saying it is illegal. But the Constitutional Court ruled that he can seek a third term and his backers say he can seek re-election because for his first term, he was selected by Parliament and not by popular election. Burundi's constitution says the president should be elected by universal direct suffrage for a mandate of five years, renewable one time.
Protests have rocked Burundi's capital since the ruling party announced on April 25 that it had nominated Nkurunziza as its presidential candidate. Thursday's deaths bring the number of people killed in the protests to at least 13 and 216 wounded. More than 30,000 Burundians have fled to neighboring countries, fearing political violence.
Nkurunziza said the protests should stop immediately so the country can peacefully prepare for the June 26 elections. Opposition politician Audifax Ndabitoreye was arrested after a meeting between East African Community foreign ministers seeking to end the crisis and Burundi leaders at a hotel in the capital on Wednesday but was released later.
Associated Press Writer Edmund Kagire contributed to this report from Kigali, Rwanda
BUJUMBURA, Burundi (AP) — Protesters searched for and assaulted people suspected to be members of the ruling party's violent youth group on Thursday as the upheaval against President Pierre Nkurunziza's bid for a third term persisted with three more people reported killed.
One man fled under a hail of stones and took shelter in a covered sewer until army troops arrived and dispersed the mob by firing into the air. In another neighborhood, a protester was killed in clashes with police and the Imbonerakure youth group.
One person was killed in Kinama Commune when protesters confronted a group of Imbonerakure members, caught one and burning him; and in Commune Nyakabiga, another man was killed by a mob which accused him of being a member of Imbonerakure, witnesses told journalists.
Three people were killed and 13 wounded in the day's violence, according to the Burundi Red Cross. Protesters want Nkurunziza to drop his re-election bid, saying it is illegal. But the Constitutional Court ruled that he can seek a third term and his backers say he can seek re-election because for his first term, he was selected by Parliament and not by popular election. Burundi's constitution says the president should be elected by universal direct suffrage for a mandate of five years, renewable one time.
Protests have rocked Burundi's capital since the ruling party announced on April 25 that it had nominated Nkurunziza as its presidential candidate. Thursday's deaths bring the number of people killed in the protests to at least 13 and 216 wounded. More than 30,000 Burundians have fled to neighboring countries, fearing political violence.
Nkurunziza said the protests should stop immediately so the country can peacefully prepare for the June 26 elections. Opposition politician Audifax Ndabitoreye was arrested after a meeting between East African Community foreign ministers seeking to end the crisis and Burundi leaders at a hotel in the capital on Wednesday but was released later.
Associated Press Writer Edmund Kagire contributed to this report from Kigali, Rwanda
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