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| Burundi grenade attacks kill four ahead of election | Burundi grenade attacks kill four ahead of election |
| (about 1 hour later) | |
| Four people have been killed and 30 wounded in a wave of grenade attacks overnight in Burundi, police say, a week before parliamentary elections. | Four people have been killed and 30 wounded in a wave of grenade attacks overnight in Burundi, police say, a week before parliamentary elections. |
| A single attack on a bar in Ngozi, the hometown of President Pierre Nkurunziza, accounted for the majority of the victims. | A single attack on a bar in Ngozi, the hometown of President Pierre Nkurunziza, accounted for the majority of the victims. |
| Police blamed the attacks on opposition supporters and said three suspects had been arrested. | Police blamed the attacks on opposition supporters and said three suspects had been arrested. |
| Violent protests began in April against the president's third-term bid. | Violent protests began in April against the president's third-term bid. |
| In two grenade attacks overnight, one police officer was injured in the capital Bujumbura, and two people injured after an explosion near a bank in the northern town of Kirundo, police said. | In two grenade attacks overnight, one police officer was injured in the capital Bujumbura, and two people injured after an explosion near a bank in the northern town of Kirundo, police said. |
| Rights groups say at least 70 people have been killed and 500 wounded since the protests began in April. | Rights groups say at least 70 people have been killed and 500 wounded since the protests began in April. |
| More than 100,000 people have fled Burundi since the start of the crisis, the UN says. | |
| In a separate development, the European Union has threatened to impose sanctions against those responsible for the violence in Burundi. | |
| On Friday night 11 police officers were wounded in simultaneous grenade attacks in the capital Bujumbura. | On Friday night 11 police officers were wounded in simultaneous grenade attacks in the capital Bujumbura. |
| "It is clear that all these grenade attacks are related to each other, this is a terror campaign organised by opponents of... President Pierre Nkurunziza," a senior police officer is quoted as saying by AFP news agency. | |
| But opposition and civil society groups rejected that interpretation: | |
| "Our movement is and will remain peaceful," Jeremiah Minani, spokesman of the Arusha Movement, a coalition of different groups opposing the president's controversial bid for a third term, told AFP. | |
| Opponents of Mr Nkurunziza say the attacks are aimed at creating instability, which would provide the security services with a pretext for a crackdown, the BBC's Karen Allen reports from Nairobi. | |
| BBC Africa Live: Updates through the day | BBC Africa Live: Updates through the day |
| What’s behind the coup bid? | What’s behind the coup bid? |
| Burundi's President Nkurunziza in profile | Burundi's President Nkurunziza in profile |
| The president's critics say his bid for a third term contravenes the constitution, which requires him to step down after two terms. | |
| But Burundi's Constitutional Court ruled that Mr Nkurunziza's first term does not count because he was elected by parliament and not voters. | |
| In May, the president survived a coup attempt. | |
| The election was due in June but was put back to 15 July following pressure from regional leaders. | |
| Parliamentary elections are now due on 29 June. |