In Burundi, shooting by night and protests by day

Demonstrations against Burundian President Pierre Nkurunziza's third term bid resumed Friday morning in Bujumbura, after a night punctuated by bursts of shooting, witnesses said.

Automatic gunfire could be heard in several parts of the capital until late in the evening, as weeks of protests continued against Nkurunziza's plan to run for a third term in presidential elections due late next month.

In the city's protest hotspots of Musaga, Cibitoke and Nyakabiga, as well as in the Bwiza neighbourhood, police chased away protestors who had sought to build barricades overnight and on Friday morning police were again deployed in large numbers in those areas.

Police patrolling in all three of the neighbourhoods where protests have been the strongest fired warning shots in the air, or aimed at suspected demonstrators to break up crowds or prevent them from forming.

Despite all the shooting, by midday Friday there were no reports of new casualties.

More than 30 people have so far been killed in a month of street protests which have been mostly restricted to the capital.

Delayed local elections are due on June 5 followed by a presidential vote on June 26.

Burundi's influential Catholic Church has withdrawn its support for the elections, and the European Union has suspended its observation mission for the votes.

Regional heads of state are due to meet again on Sunday in Dar es Salaam to discuss Burundi's crisis but it is unclear whether Nkurunziza will attend.

The last time the president left the country, for the previous regional summit on May 13, some members of the armed forces tried to overthrow him, launching an ultimately unsuccessful coup attempt.