Unrest grows in Burundi - another protester killed

Bujumbura - Unrest was growing in Burundi on Tuesday, with police killing another demonstrator while thousands marched against President Pierre Nkurunziza's bid for a third term in office.

The protester was shot dead during clashes in Bujumbura's Buterere district, police and witnesses said.

Seven people were reported to have been injured. The house of a government official and three government vehicles were set on fire.

"The situation is getting uglier every hour and police are using live bullets to contain demonstrators," said Pierre Claver Mbonimpa from Burundi's Association for the Protection of Human Rights and Detained Persons (APRODH).


He put the death toll at 21 since the protests started on April 26.

Nkurunziza has resisted calls from the African Union, the European Union and the United States to postpone presidential elections scheduled for June 26.

The constitution bars him from seeking a third five-year term, but the Constitutional Court said his first term did not count because he was elected by parliament and not voted in by the people.

"We will not leave the streets, no matter what happens. We are ready to resist Nkurunziza's manipulation of the constitution," said Peter Kanimba, a demonstrator in Buterere.

More than 50 000 Burundians have fled to neighbouring countries to escape the violence, according to the United Nations.