A Burundi soldier was shot dead by an intelligence officer while at least nine protesters were hurt in renewed clashes in the capital Bujumbura Thursday, over a bid by the country's president to stand for a third term. The soldier died and a civilian was hurt when an intelligence officer opened fire near a barricade erected by protesters, said a senior police officer speaking on condition of anonymity.
The officer was "at a spot where the demonstrators had built a barricade. He felt threatened. He shot and hit a soldier who was killed," said the source, describing the shooting as "an unfortunate incident." The Red Cross reported that nine protesters had been hurt. It confirmed, before the soldier's death, that the overall toll from days of violent protest stood at six dead. Three were killed on the first day of protests on Sunday - when police were accused of firing on demonstrators - and three later that night in an alleged attack by ruling party militia forces. The nine people injured on Thursday included several who suffered gunshot wounds, Burundian Red Cross spokesman Alexis Manirakiza said. A military source confirmed that police had again fired on groups of demonstrators.
The unrest broke out after the ruling CNDD-FDD party designated President Pierre Nkurunziza as its candidate in the next presidential election, which is due to be held in the small central African nation on June 26. Opposition figures and rights groups say that Nkurunziza's attempt to stand for a third consecutive term goes against the constitution as well as a peace deal that ended a civil war in 2006.
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