Bujumbura: Police in the central African nation of Burundi clashed with protestors on Sunday, witnesses said, the day after the president launched his controversial bid to stay in power for a third term.
An AFP correspondent said there were demonstrations in several parts of the capital despite a government ban and threats to call out the army. In the Cibitoke area, police used tear gas, water cannons and live ammunition to prevent hundreds and then thousands of youth from marching to the city centre.
One protestor was shot in the arm and witnesses said two other demonstrators received gunshot wounds. At least seven anti-riot police were also injured in stone throwing.
The protests come the day after the ruling CNDD-FDD party -- which has been accused of intimidating opponents -- designated President Pierre Nkurunziza as its candidate for the June 26 presidential elections.
Opposition figures and rights groups say the move is unconstitutional and warn the president`s effort to cling to power could push Burundi -- which only emerged from long and bloody civil war in 2006 -- back into violence.
"We will not give up, we will not back down," one protestor said as the rioting escalated in several parts of the city.
An AFP reporter saw protestors pelt police with stones after one demonstrator was beaten and detained after trying to negotiate with officers to let them walk peacefully to the city centre.
"We threw stones to try and free our friend. This is a peaceful protest, we were only singing and they charged," said one of the protestors, who did not give his name.
Witnesses reported similar clashes in two other districts of the capital. There were unconfirmed reports of one demonstrator shot dead.Washington also condemned Nkurunziza`s candidacy and warned the country "is losing an historic opportunity to strengthen its democracy."
"We specifically call on the Burundian government to respect the rights of all peaceful political parties and their candidates to campaign, hold meetings and rallies and express their views," the State Department said.
The influential Catholic Church has also spoken out against the president`s plans to stay put, and earlier this month UN rights chief Zeid Ra`ad Al Hussein warned that the country was at a "crossroad" between a fair vote and a route back to its "horrendously violent past".
Nkurunziza, a former rebel leader, born-again Christian and football fanatic, has already served two terms as president. Opposition groups say a third term would violate the constitution as well as the peace deal that ended the civil war.
"This third candidacy is illegal, it violates the constitution," said Rights activist Pierre-Claver Mbonimpa, president of Burundi`s influential campaign group Aprodeh.
Thousands of Burundians have fled the country in recent weeks to neighbouring Rwanda and Democratic Republic of Congo, according to the UN`s refugee agency, which has also warned that the numbers of refugees could swell "with more political tension rising and more acts of violence being reported."
Many are fleeing threats by the pro-government militia Imbonerakure, the youth wing of the ruling CNDD-FDD party. Rights groups allege that the militia has been armed and trained over the past year in order help Nkurunziza stay in office.
