Four people have been killed in a series of grenade attacks in Burundi’s capital Bujumbura on Sunday night.
The attacks come only one week before parliamentary elections in a country which has been facing political violence since April.
Police say the attacks which have been witnessed in the capital Bujumbura and several other towns are related to each other.
” This is a terror campaign organised by opponents of the third term of President Pierre Nkurunziza, to destabilize and try to prevent the elections,” a senior police officer said.
27 people were injured in another grenade attack on a bar in Ngozi town north of Bujumbura while a blast in the northern town of Kirundo near a bank injured two people, police spokesman Pierre Nkurikiye said.
Burundi has been in crisis since late April following president Pierre Nkurunziza’s controversial bid to stand for a third.
Activists and the opposition say the bid is unconstitutional and violates the Arusha 2006 peace deal that ended 13 years of civil war.
Parliamentary elections are planned for June 29, ahead of the presidential vote on July 15.
Thousands of people have been forced top flee the violence in Burundi into neighboring countries like
More than 100,000 people have fled the violence in Burundi to neighbouring countries.
President Pierre Nkurunziza survived a coup attempt last month and has since faced down international pressure, including aid cuts, aimed at forcing him to reconsider his attempt to stay in power, which diplomats fear could plunge the country back into war.
