(MENAFN- The Journal Of Turkish Weekly) Protests against Burundian President Pierre Nkurunziza's bid for a third term in office continued for the third day in a row on Tuesday, spilling over from the capital into the country's second biggest city.
Protests were reported in Bujumbura and € for the first time € in Gitega, located some 120km from the capital, an Anadolu Agency correspondent reported.
"Peaceful protests erupted early morning after students from different high schools in Gitega refused to attend class and took to the streets to demonstrate against Nkurunziza's [third-term] bid," one eyewitness from Gitega's Yoba district, preferring anonymity, told AA.
"Police tried to stop them with teargas, but without success," he added.
In Bujumbura, residents of the urban Nyakabiga commune blocked the main road with burning tires while army troops stationed nearby looked on passively, one demonstrator told AA.
"Deployment of army troops on the streets was probably helpful, as police are inclined to use violence against demonstrators," he said.
A protester in Bujumbura's Mutakura district said that all schools, shops and banks had closed for the second day in a row due to the tensions.
Since Sunday, Bujumbura has been shaken by street protests after the ruling National Council for the Defense of Democracy (CNDD-FDD) named Nkurunziza, in power since 2005, as its candidate for presidential polls slated for June.
On March 20, Nkurunziza proposed a constitutional amendment that would allow him to run for a third presidential term, sparking controversy across the central African nation.
Despite parliament's rejection of the proposal, the bill, according to the country's laws, can still be brought before the assembly for a second vote.
Critics say a third-term bid by Nkurunziza would violate the terms of the 2000 Arusha agreement, which, along with ending a Hutu-Tutsi civil war, stipulated that Burundi's president should serve no more than two terms.
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