Bujumbura, Burundi--Authorities in Burundi arrested a leading dissident and shut down the main independent radio station Monday as they battled a second day of demonstrations against a bid by the president to cling to power for a third term.
The army was also deployed around the capital Bujumbura, after the Red Cross said two people were shot dead in clashes with police in the capital Bujumbura on Sunday. A third person died from their wounds and two more were killed in alleged overnight attacks by ruling party militia.
The unrest erupted on Sunday after the ruling CNDD-FDD party, which has been accused of intimidating opponents, designated President Pierre Nkurunziza its candidate in the June 26 presidential election.
A senior police official said at least 320 people had been arrested in the unrest.
The president, a former rebel leader and born-again Christian, has been in power since 2005. Opposition figures and rights groups say his attempt to stay put goes against the constitution as well as the peace deal that ended a civil war in 2006.
Hundreds of thousands of people were killed in the 13-year conflict, and there are fears the upsurge in political tensions could plunge the country back into violence.
On Monday demonstrators were back on the streets, with police using tear gas in Cibitoke, in the north of Bujumbura, to prevent around 1,000 demonstrators reaching the centre. Sporadic clashes continued later Monday in Musaga district, AFP reporters said.
Leading human rights activist Pierre-Claver Mbonimpa was also arrested. A witness, who asked not to be named, said Mbonimpa was arrested "brutally" during a police raid on the headquarters of a media association.
Mbonimpa's lawyer, Armel Niyongere, said he had not been informed of the charges against his client but believed "the arrest is linked to his call for demonstrations today".
An arrest warrant has also been issued for Vital Nshimirimana, head of a prominent NGO forum.
AFP
