Violence forces delay in Burundi presidential vote

Burundi has postponed presidential elections until July 21 after several months of unrest in the capital, Bujumbura, and battles with rebels near the Rwandan border.

President Pierre Nkurunziza signed a decree extending election campaigning until the evening of July 18. The polls were originally supposed to take place on July 15.

The delay comes despite calls for Nkurunziza to abandon his attempts to stand for a third consecutive five-year term.

Opposition groups said the move would be unconstitutional and a violation of a peace deal that ended Burundi's civil war in 2006. Nkurunziza has maintained that he was not elected by the people for his first term in office but put in place by the parliament, allowing him to run for what he considers to be his second election.

Violence continues at border

On Friday night, at least one person was shot dead after a string of grenade attacks followed by heavy police gunfire.

In the north, at least 12 gunmen were killed in clashes with government troops in a thickly forested area on the Rwandan border.

Rebel Burundian army soldiers who tried but failed to overthrow the president in a coup in mid-May were involved in the fighting, according to local media.

The five-nation East African Community (EAC), which has been trying to mediate an end to the crisis, had called for elections to be delayed until July 30.

Over 70 people have been killed in more than two months of protests, with over 158,000 refugees fleeing to neighboring countries, according to the latest UN figures.

mm/sms (AFP, Reuters)