One person is said to have died as protesters clashed with police in the Burundian capital Bujumbura.
This comes a day after President Pierre Nkurunziza was controversially announced by his governing CNDD-FDD party as a candidate for a third term in office.
Hundreds of the citizens led by the civil society took to the streets of Bujumbura this morning, throwing stones at police who responded with tear gas.
Police blocked off roads leading to the centre of Bujumbura, leading to fierce clashes with the protesters .
The protesters warn that this threatens a peace deal that ended the country’s 12-year civil war in 2005, which killed more than 300,000 people.
Musa Habyarimana, a reporter with Burundi National Radio & Television says the internal affairs minister had threatened to shut down a private FM station it accused of spreading harmful propaganda and inciting violence.
Today’s protests are the latest against Mr Nkurunziza’s bid for another term.
According to the BBC, at his nomination by a special party congress, the president said: “I call people to go to the election in peace.
“But I would like to warn everyone: Whoever wants to create problems with the ruling party elected by the people, he’ll find himself in trouble,” he added, Reuters reported.
Mr Nkurunziza has served two terms as president, coming to the office at the end of the civil war.
Burundi’s constitution only allows the president to be elected twice. But Mr Nkurunziza’s supporters argue he is eligible for another term since he was appointed by parliament in 2005.
The UN refugee agency says more than 8,000 people have fled to neighboring countries in recent weeks citing violence ahead of June’s presidential election.
Story by Catherine Ageno
