Video footage shows the female officer looking agitated as she and her fellow officers slowly move towards the rioters, who stand pressed against a brick wall in the capital Bujumbura. Moments later a brief scuffle between one of her colleagues and a rioter leads to her shooting at the man from no more than ten feet. Just seconds after the shots were fired, the policewoman was punched, kicked and dragged along the streets of Bujumbura by a furious mob who managed to separate her from her colleagues.
This is the moment a Burundian police officer opened fire on anti-government protesters at point-blank range, causing a furious mob to attack her with stones and knives.
The incident took place on the streets of the capital Bujumbura as officers clashed with dozens of rioters who had taken to the street to demonstrate against President Pierre Nkurunziza's controversial bid for third term in office.
Video footage shows the female officer looking agitated as she and her fellow officers slowly move towards the rioters, who stand pressed against a brick wall. Moments later a brief scuffle between one of her colleagues and a rioter leads to her shooting at the man from no more than ten feet.
Just seconds after the shots were fired, the policewoman was punched, kicked and dragged along the streets of Bujumbura by a furious mob who managed to separate her from her colleagues.
Harrowing images show the woman attempting to flee for her life while knife and stone-wielding men fight among themselves to reach her. Eventually the female officer's colleagues managed to get between her and her attackers, enabling her to flee to safety with only minor injuries.
This morning the Burundian army claimed to have seized control of the East African country, adding that they were deposing embattled Nkurunziza. Those claims were quickly denied by the presidential office, however, which posted a message Twitter saying that an attempted coup had failed.
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Firepower: The female officer slowly moved towards the rioters, who stand pressed against a brick wall. Moments later a brief scuffle between one of her colleagues and a demonstrator leads to her shooting at the man from no more than ten feet
The 20-second long video shows the female police officer looking decidedly agitated as she and her colleagues approach the rioters.
Despite carrying a large assault rifle and wearing a riot helmet, the woman appears to panic as one of her colleagues approaches an unarmed protester.
The two men grapple with one another momentarily, before the rioter manages to break free and attempts to run back towards his fellow protesters.
The site of the man escaping clearly spooks the female officer and she immediately opens fire on him, appearing to shoot the man in the leg.
It is not known why the individual was being targeted by officers and there is no information available about his condition.
Seconds after the attack took place, the rioters turned on the police officer, separating her from her colleagues, stripping her of her gun and helmet and dragging her by her feet along the road.
Men punched and kicked the woman as she was dragged from the scene, while others attempted to stone her and a group carrying large kitchen knives did their best to reach her.
Thankfully the woman's colleagues managed to seize control of the situation and rescued her from the mob before they could inflict serious injuries.
Furious Burundian protesters violently carry a female police officer they accused of opening fire on them in the capital Bujumbura
The female police officer is dragged along on the street and kicked in the head by a group of men who accused her of shooting at them
Two men appear to be protecting the police officer while several others - including one wearing Chelsea football shorts - punch and kick her
The female police officer is struck on the head by an object held by one of the men protesting in the Buterere neighbourhood of Bujumbura
A helmeted police officer and another man in a black polo shirt attempt to hold back the crowds throwing stones and kicking at her
A man carrying a large knife is seen among the rioters who appear to have been attempting to kill the female police officer
At least one protester died in yesterday's violence, while two others were reportedly killed overnight in a grenade explosion.
The latest deaths bring the number killed in more than two weeks of anti-government protests to more than 20 and come as African leaders prepare to hold a crisis meeting in Tanzania tomorrow.
This morning there were reports that police officers had once again opened fire on demonstrators in Bujumbura.
Shortly afterwards the Burundian Army announced via radio broadcast that it has seized control of the country.
'Active Forces of the Nation have decided to take charge of the country,' said Godefroid Niyombareh, who was fired by Nkurunziza as intelligence chief earlier this year. 'President Pierre Nkurunziza is removed from office,' he added.
Almost immediately a Twitter account for the Burundian presidential office posted a message pouring cold water on the coup claims, saying that a potential takeover of the country had 'failed'.
'The situation is under control, there is no coup in Burundi,' the message read.
A South African foreign ministry spokesman said 'it's way too early to say' whether a coup had actually taken place in Burundi but added the situation was being closely monitored.
Protest organisers in the capital urged African leaders meeting in Tanzania today to demand that their president halt his bid for a third term, which has triggered the nation's worst crisis since an ethnically fuelled civil war ended in 2005.
At least two gunshots rang out as protesters returned to the streets of Burundi's capital today. Activists say Nkurunziza's bid for another five years violates two-term limits in the constitution and the peace deal that ended the civil war.
East African leaders and a top official from continental heavyweight South Africa met in Tanzania's commercial capital Dar es Salaam this morning to discuss the crisis that has already spilled over into a region with a history of ethnic conflict.
Protection: The female police officer manages to get hold of a gun as the man in black gets between her and the furious protesters
The female officer looks anguished while a policeman wearing a helmet and carrying a gun pleads with the demonstrators to withdraw
The bloodied female officer cowers in terror as she makes her way along a road in the Buterere neighbourhood of Bujumbura, Burundi
The man in the black t-shirt comforts the female officer and her colleagues finally manage to take control of the situation
A senior police officer manages to escort the woman away from the scene while the stone-carrying protesters argue among themselves
Painful: The injured female officer is eventually helped from the scene by two male colleagues after escaping the rampaging mob
The violence comes just a week after protesters burned a man to death in Bujumbura because they believed he was a part of the ruling party's militant youth wing - and a protester was shot amid political tension caused by the president's campaign for an unconstitutional third term.
An eyewitness said the crowd 'put tyres around his neck and then burned him'.
It was also claimed that a protester was shot dead as police shot into the crowds to disperse the demonstrators.
The mob believed the man they burned alive to be a member of Imbonerakure, a youth militia for the ruling CNDD-FDD party, which they claim attacked them last week.
The group has been accused of widespread human rights abuses in the past.
The Government denied the claim that the Imbonerakure has orchestrated attacks on opposition groups and condemned the killing. A presidential spokesman said the government should take 'strenuous measures' to prevent them in the future.
Officers opened fire on demonstrators amid furious clashes on the streets of the capital Bujumbura, as Pierre Nkurunziza defied international pressure to cease his latest campaign for president
At least one protester is understood to have died in yesteray's violence, while two others were killed in a grenade explosion
A policeman runs with a detained protester during a protest in Buterere neighbourhood of Bujumbura, Burundi yesterday morning
Police in Bujumbura opened fire on protesters in an apparent attempt to scatter crowds who wanted to attack the house of a police officer
Sickening: One of the rioters poses with the body of a dead barn owl tied to a cross, in what is believed to be a political gesture
A protestor holds up a dead owl attached to a stick. The symbol is intended to denigrate Burundi's ruling party, whose emblem is an eagle
A policeman detains a protester during a protest in Buterere neighbourhood of Bujumbura yesterday afternoon
The rioter argues with police officers are the accuse him of taking part in the attack on their female colleague
More than 50,000 people have fled to neighbouring states since the current violence broke out. The U.N. refugee agency UNHCR said the crisis was heading towards a 'worst case scenario' that could see 300,000 people fleeing, some to other parts of Burundi and others abroad.
That would mean the displacement of about 3 percent of the 10 million-strong population in one of Africa's most crowded nations.
'We expect the east African heads of state to tell President Nkurunziza that the constitution of Burundi and the Arusha peace agreement do not allow him to run for a third term,' Pacifique Nininahazwe, a civil society activist and protest leader, told Reuters.
A Reuters witnesses saw hundreds of protesters near the parliament in Bujumbura and heard at least two gunshots. Police at the scene fired teargas to disperse them.
In the centre of the capital, another Reuters witness said police used water canon and teargas to disperse a group of about 100 women protesters.
Nkurunziza, 51, who once led a rebel group from the majority Hutu population against the minority Tutsi-led army in the war, has pointed to a constitutional court ruling that said his first term did not count as he was chosen by lawmakers, not voted in.
Protesters say the court was manipulated and Britain and other donors have questioned the court's neutrality.
His bid and the mounting violence have drawn increasingly strong rebukes from Western nations and African colleagues. The United States, a major donor to the national army, said police must stop using 'violent force' against protesters.
A policeman runs in front of a burning barricade during a protest in the Buterere neighbourhood of Bujumbura, Burundi yesterday morning
Police officers fire guns and teargas towards protesters throwing stones in a suburb of Burundi's capital yesterday
Casual: Two men walk in front of burning barricade in the Burundian capital of Bujumbura yesterday morning
Protesters run away from police and behind a bruning barricade during a protest in Buterere neighbourhood of Bujumbura
Attacking the police: Protesters throw stones at police during a furious demonstration in the capital Bujumbura yesterday
Officers fired tear gas to break up a crowd of some 200 stone-throwing youths in Bujumbura
On the run: Protesters run away from police during a protest in Buterere neighbourhood of Bujumbura
A policeman stands in front of a burnt barricade in Bujumbura. Violence in the Burundian capital is continuing
European states, big supporters of the budget, have withheld some aid, part of it related to a parliamentary vote scheduled for May 26 a presidential poll on June 26.
Police have regularly fired teargas, water cannon and, say protesters, live rounds at demonstrators, who have hurled stones and barricaded streets in the capital. The police deny shooting.
Today's summit host, Tanzanian President Jakaya Kikwete, whose country played a key role in ending Burundi's conflict, has criticised the third-term bid. In March he said that violating the constitution and Arusha deal risked violence.
South African Deputy President Cyril Ramaphosa lends extra weight, as his nation was another vital player in the Arusha accords. While in office, Ramaphosa has helped defuse tensions in Lesotho and sought to broker peace in South Sudan.
Also among those attending will be President Paul Kagame of Rwanda, a nation with the same ethnic mix as Burundi that suffered a 1994 genocide in which 800,000 mostly Tutsis and moderate Hutus were slaughtered.
Kagame has often said he would not allow another genocide in the region. Analysts say his nation could be pulled into any new conflict where Tutsis are targeted.
About half the refugees have fled to Rwanda, many of them Tutsis who say they feel threatened by Imbonerakure, the youth wing of Nkurunziza's ruling party. The party denies any threats.
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