Leading rights activist arrested in Burundi: lawyer

Pierre-Claver Mbonimpa, President of the Association for the Protection of Human Rights and Detainees (A.PRO.D.H), pictured in Burundi's capital Bujumbura on March 19, 2015. By Carl De Souza (AFP/File)

Bujumbura (Burundi) (AFP) - Police in Burundi on Monday arrested leading human rights activist Pierre-Claver Mbonimpa, his lawyer said, after violent protests against President Pierre Nkurunziza's bid for a third term in power.

An arrest warrant has also been issued for Vital Nshimirimana, head of a prominent NGO forum and leader of the campaign to block a third presidential term, sources told AFP.

Mbonimpa's lawyer, Armel Niyongere, said he had not been informed of the charges against him, but said he believed "the arrest is linked to his call for demonstrations today".

A witness, who asked not to be named, said Mbonimpa was arrested "brutally" during a police raid on the headquarters of a media association.

Opposition activists held a second day of protests on Monday against a bid by the central African nation's president to seek a controversial third term.

Nkurunziza has been in power for two terms since 2005, and opposition figures and rights groups say his attempt to stay put goes against the constitution as well as the Arusha peace deal that brought an end in 2003 to a civil war that killed hundreds of thousands of people.

Monday's demonstrations came the day after at least two protesters were shot dead during clashes with police in the capital Bujumbura, and after two further deaths were reported overnight in alleged attacks by ruling party militia.