Burundi President Nkurunziza Under Fire to Quit Race

Police engaged the protestors with tear gas and water cannon which reflected the civil wars in the country a decade ago.  

This comes even as supporters urge Mr. Nkurunziza to contest in June's election, although he has not commented on his intentions.

The Opposition said that such a move would violate the constitution, and even some ruling party officials have asked him not to run.

"We won't let him run again!" protesters at the capital Bujumbura shouted.

Protesters took shelter in shops or buildings before regrouping. Some hurled stones at police. Rain later helped disperse them.

Opposition parties are discussing uniting behind a single candidate to improve their chances of defeating Nkurunziza

Picked by lawmakers and not voters

The president has served two terms since he took office in 2005 after 12 years of civil conflict.

The constitution and the peace deal that ended that war both stipulate no one should be president for longer than 10 years.

The president's supporters argue that his first term should not count since he was picked by lawmakers rather than voted in.

Regional and international calls urged Nkurunziza to steer Burundi clear of a crisis.

In Washington, the State Department said on Friday the United States was "deeply concerned" about the crisis and would "take steps, including, where appropriate, by denying US visas to individuals who order, plan, or participate in acts of violence."

Chauvineau Mugwingizo, a spokesman for the five opposition groups that called the protest, said: "The police used brutality to disperse peaceful protesters, but this will not discourage us. We will continue the struggle."

Presidential spokesman Gervais Abayeho said the protests had no justification when the ruling party had not announced its candidate, which would happen this month at a party congress:

"How can you protest against something that has not happened? The president has not announced that he will run for a third term."

The civil war pitted the then-Tutsi-dominated army against rebels from the Hutu ethnic group. The army has since been reformed and has in the past said it would not intervene in the political crisis.

At least 6,000 Burundians have fled to neighbouring Rwanda in recent weeks.

A Western diplomat said they appeared to be both Tutsi and Hutu and that Rwanda feared more could come.

Rwanda, which has a similar ethnic make-up, was the scene of a 1994 genocide in which about 800,000 mostly Tutsis and moderate Hutus were killed.

By Musalia Wycliffe

Source: Reuters