Burundi protests on president's 3rd term turn violent on 5th day

Police in Burundi fired live bullets to disperse protesters opposed to President Pierre Nkurunziza's bid for a third term on Thursday while two government cars were burned, as demonstrations went into a fifth day, witnesses have said.

Witnesses said police fired live ammunition to disperse protesters in Kinama, north of the capital Bujumbura, with an unknown number of people allegedly injured.

In another development, a grenade exploded at a bus station in the city center of Bujumbura, but caused no casualties.

Meanwhile, two cars belonging to the National Intelligence Service (SNR) were burned in different places in the capital.

"The car burned here was driven by an agent at the National Intelligence Service. Protesters told him to change the direction and not to force his way and he refused, then they set fire on his car," said Salvator Munango, a witness at Musaga neighborhood.

According to him, the SNR agent had two guards in police uniforms, but they refused to open fire at his order as the protesters numbered some hundreds.

The three men then left the scene after boarding a military truck.

Still at Musaga, angry protesters beat and stoned a man who was with them after discovering that he had a pistol and was wearing military trousers underneath. The man was saved by soldiers.

Nkurunziza was nominated on Saturday as candidate for the ruling CNDD-FDD in the upcoming presidential election.

The opposition says his bid violates Burundi's constitution and a peace agreement that ended the country's civil war, which only allow the president to be elected twice.

However, the president's supporters say his first term was appointed by parliament in 2005 after the civil war, not elected by the people.

Burundi will hold its general elections between May and August, with the presidential election to be held on June 26. Endi