Bujumbura, Burundi---Protesters in Burundi clashed with police Tuesday just three days before parliamentary elections as the United Nations pushed for action to halt the violence that has left dozens dead.
Police fired live rounds and tear gas to break up groups of demonstrators trying to gather in the three hotspot neighbourhoods of Cibitoke, Musaga and Nyakabiga in the capital Bujumbura.
Parliamentary elections are set for Friday ahead of a presidential vote on June 26 that will see President Pierre Nkurunziza stand for a third term, despite opposition calls for him to cede power.
After East African leaders at the weekend called for postponing the elections for at least six weeks, the UN's political affairs chief Jeffrey Feltman met with Burundi's Vice President Prosper Bazombanza.
The call by regional leaders provide "the government with an additional opportunity to create the conditions for peaceful and credible elections," said UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric.
UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon spoke by phone with Tanzanian President Jakaya Kikwete and Angolan leader Jose Eduardo dos Santos about the Burundi crisis.
The UN Security Council is due to hear a report on Thursday from UN envoy Said Djinnit, who will brief council members by video conference from Bujumbura.
As protesters took to the streets for the 38th day, the United States weighed in to call on Nkurunziza to delay the polls, warning that it "seriously undermines Burundi's stability".
"The conditions for free, fair, transparent and credible elections do not currently exist," the US embassy in Bujumbura said in a statement.
Burundi's electoral commission is considering whether to hold the vote on schedule.
More than 30 people have died in the protests that began when Nkurunziza announced in late April that he would stand for re-election after Burundi's constitutional court gave him the green light.
- Opposition keeps up protests -
Nkurunziza hopes to win a third term in elections due on June 26, but opponents say his candidacy is unconstitutional and goes against the 2006 Arusha peace deal that ended 13 years of civil war.
"Five months ago, no one could have imagined a movement of this magnitude in Burundi," said protest leader Pacifique Nininahazwe.
"The main objective of non-violent resistance is to wear out the authorities, to make them understand that this situation is unsustainable if they don't listen," he added, calling for "even more acts of civil disobedience."
"We cannot stop now. If we keep going, Nkurunziza will be in pieces in a month and a half from now."
AFP
