Several protesters were arrested and others injured this Friday in the Burundi Capital Bujumbura after police clashed with demonstrators, who are demanding that President Nkurunziza steps down after his constitutional term ends this year.

Elections in Burundi are due in June this year but the President has not been clear on whether he will seek another term in violation of the constitution and the Arusha Peace Accord that brought him to power.

Dr. Jean Minani the leader of FRODEBU Nyakuri Irajye rya Ndadaye has told the Voice of America that they will continue to protest until President Nkurunziza ;listens to the voices of the majority of the people of Burundi..

A number of protesters were arrested after Burundi police tried to intercept the protestors who were marching in Bujumbura and a scuffle broke out, the police have said that many people have been injured but no fatalities have been reported yet. Dr. Minani has said that Protests will continue because these are fundamental rights protected by the Burundi Constitution.

“The right of the people to peacefully assemble is what the police should do to protect,” Dr. Minani said. “No one who is peacefully exercising that right should be suppressed by police”

Many protesters have said police have used excessive and unnecessary force to suppress and intimidate the organizers of the peaceful assembly. Protesters have pledged continued civil unrest until President Nkurunziza drops his appetite for what the opposition call abuse of office and constitutional coup.

More than 8,000 Burundians have fled in the past two weeks to Rwanda and DR Congo following mounting tensions in the central African country ahead of a key vote, the UN said Friday. The UN refugee agency said the main reasons according to reports from the ground were the disappearance of people associated with the opposition and alleged forced recruitment by the pro-government militia Imbonerakure, the youth wing of the ruling CNDD-FDD party.

“In all, more than 8,000 Burundians have sought refuge in these two countries in the past two weeks, 7,099 in Rwanda and a smaller number in the Democratic Republic of Congo,” UNHCR spokesman Adrian Edwards told reporters in Geneva.

 

Placide KayitareAFRICADEMOCRACY & FREEDOMSHUMAN RIGHTSLATEST NEWSWORLDSeveral protesters were arrested and others injured this Friday in the Burundi Capital Bujumbura after police clashed with demonstrators, who are demanding that President Nkurunziza steps down after his constitutional term ends this year. Elections in Burundi are due in June this year but the President has not been clear...PUBLISHING YOUR NEWS WITH CUTTING EDGE STYLE