Grenade explosion injures 5 in Burundi's capital: police

BUJUMBURA, Dec. 5 (Xinhua) -- At least five persons were Monday night injured in a grenade explosion near a bus stop in Bwiza Zone near the city center of Bujumbura, the capital city of Burundi, a police spokesman told Xinhua on Tuesday.

Unidentified people blasted a grenade near a bus stop at Bwiza at the junction between the Fourth Avenue and the Peuple Murundi Boulevard at 7:43 p.m. local time, said Burundian Police Spokesman Pierre Nkurikiye.

Among five people who were injured, two were seriously injured, he said, adding that the victims were rushed to hospital after the explosion.

The police said they arrested one suspect.

The explosion occurred at a time when the fourth Inter-Burundi Dialogue Session is taking place in Arusha, Tanzania from Nov. 27 to Dec. 8.

The Inter-Burundi Dialogue, aimed at finding a solution to the political crisis in Burundi, is a process led by East African Community (EAC) under the mediatorship of Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni. EAC also appointed former Tanzanian President Benjamin Mkapa as the facilitator of the dialogue to support the Museveni.

The fourth session will be all-inclusive and will bring together participants from the government of Burundi, former Presidents and Vice Presidents, all the 32 political parties registered in Burundi, key political actors resident in Burundi and those outside, civil society organizations, women, the youth, religious leaders from the Catholic Church, Protestant Churches and the Moslem Community as well as the media, according to a statement of EAC.

Burundi plunged into a crisis in April 2015 when Burundian President Pierre Nkurunziza decided to run his controversial third term bid, which he won in July 2015. His candidature, which was opposed by the opposition and civil society groups, resulted in a wave of protests, violence and even a failed coup on May 13, 2015. Enditem