Burundi Police Shoot Dead Four in Battles with Protesters

Police in Burundi shot dead at least four demonstrators and wounded dozens of others Monday, in running battles with protesters angry at a bid by President Pierre Nkurunziza to extend his rule.

The deaths, which leading human rights activist Pierre-Claver Mbonimpa confirmed, brought the death toll in more than a week of protests to at least 13, including two soldiers and a policeman.

The small central African country has been rocked by violent protests since the ruling CNDD-FDD party designated Nkurunziza, a former rebel leader and born-again Christian from the Hutu majority, as its candidate in a presidential vote due to be held on June 26.

US Secretary of State John Kerry warned Monday he was "deeply concerned" about Nkurunziza's decision, "which flies directly in the face of the constitution".

Police spokesman Liboire Bakundukize said 15 officers were wounded Monday after a grenade was "thrown by protesters", while others were wounded by rocks hurled by demonstrators.

An AFP reporter saw at least eight people with bullet wounds, with Burundi's Red Cross saying 46 were wounded. 

The police fired tear gas and hurled stun grenades in a bid to disperse the crowds.

"I am killed by Nkurunziza!" one injured man screamed, as he was taken to hospital with a bullet wound in his shoulder.

Witnesses said other protesters had been shot, with police apparently giving no warning before opening fire.

After a weekend truce, hundreds of protesters gathered on Monday in a suburb of the capital Bujumbura, shouting at police who have for days blocked roads to prevent demonstrators from moving into the center of the city.

Nkurunziza has been in power since 2005. His supporters say he is eligible to run again, since his first term in office followed his election by parliament -- not directly by the people as the constitution specifies.

- 'No one wants to back down' -

Since the protests started, the army has regularly come between police and demonstrators to avoid further clashes, and the protesters believe the soldiers are neutral.

Scores have been wounded since the protests began last weekend. Nearly 600 people have also been arrested, according to police.

"We have two camps fixed in their positions -- and no one is willing to back down," said a foreign diplomat, declining to be named.

The government linked a grenade attack that killed three people, including two police officers, in the early hours of Saturday to the opposition protests and branded the demonstrators "enemies of the state."

It has also vowed a major crackdown, with the security minister warning the police would do anything to stop an uprising.

On Monday, Kerry said the African Union would soon send a delegation to Burundi to meet with Nkurunziza and "to try to underscore the importance... of the constitution of the country."

"And it is our hope in the United States that ultimately that is what will happen and the people of Burundi will be given the choice that their constitution promises them," he added.

Nkurunziza's bid to hold on to power has both supporters and opponents within the security services, according to the foreign diplomat.

On Sunday, the army's chief of staff General Prime Niyongabo said the military "remains and will remain a republican and loyalist army that is respectful of the laws and rules of Burundi and of those who govern it."

But a statement by Defense Minister General Pontien Gaciyubwenge on Saturday declared the army's neutrality and called for an end to attacks on citizens' rights, appeared to flag up possible divisions in the army.