Burundi Police Teargas Anti-Nkurunziza Protests

Burundian police on Sunday used teargas to disperse demonstrations that broke out Sunday to protest  the candidacy of President Pierre Nkurunziza for a third term, according to eyewitnesses.



Masked police forces were deployed early Sunday in various districts of Bujumbura, eyewitnesses told The Anadolu Agency.



Clashes between police forces and protesters in the Nyakabiga district of Bujumbura near Mutanga University campus have led to the injury of a student and the arrest of four others, the witnesses said.



In other parts of the capital, including Musaga and Mutakura, police faced off with young demonstrators and used teargas disperse the crowds, witnesses added.



"Gun shots were heard in some parts of the capital," one witness told AA.



On Saturday, the ruling National Council for the Defense of Democracy fielded President Pierre Nkurunziza as its candidate for the upcoming presidential elections slated for June.



Pacifique Nininahazwe, a leading Burundian civil society figure, told AA that as soon as Nkurunziza announces his candidacy, "we will hit the streets in protest."



On March 20, Nkurunziza proposed a constitutional amendment that would allow him to run for third presidential term, sparking a major controversy in the central African nation.



Despite the rejection of the proposal by the Burundian parliament, the law stipulates that a bill could be brought once again before parliament for a second round of voting, which gives Nkurunziza another opportunity to pass the amendment before the upcoming elections.



www.aa.com.tr/en - Bujumbura