BUJUMBURA, July 12 (Xinhua) -- Four policemen were injured, two of them seriously, in a grenade explosion that targeted a police post in the Burundian capital Bujumbura Tuesday night, police said Wednesday.
"An unidentified person last night exploded a grenade in a police post at Bwiza around 21:00. The criminal was aboard a pick-up that drove away after the grenade blast. Four policemen were injured, but one of them had very small injuries and did not need to go to the hospital," Burundian Police Spokesman Pierre Nkurikiye said.
According to him, two policemen seriously injured on their legs were rushed to hospital, another policeman left the hospital after treatment.
He blamed the attack which occurred in central Bujumbura on bandits who had been stealing cars or committing other crimes, but who were "unfortunately" released by jurisdictions.
"This grenade attack was a sort of retaliation against policemen based at Bwiza police post because they have been mercilessly arresting them," Nkurikiye said.
Tuesday's attack was just two days after another grenade attack in Kayanza of northern Burundi, which caused at least eight deaths and 50 injuries.
The central Africa country has a series of grenade attacks in recent months, while perpetrators of the attacks have not yet been identified or arrested.
Burundi has suffered turmoil since April 2015 when President Pierre Nkurunziza announced he would seek a third term, which he later won.
Opponents said the president's move violates the constitution, and mounted waves of protests.
Since April 2015, more than 500 people in Burundi have been killed and some 410,000 people fled to neighboring countries, mostly Tanzania, Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of Congo since the outbreak of the crisis.
