A riot policeman and military officers hold their position near civilians following recent clashes between protesters and riot-police against the decision made by Burundi's ruling CNDD-FDD party to allow President Pierre Nkurunziza to run for a third five-year term in office, in the capital Bujumbura, April 29, 2015. REUTERS/Thomas Mukoya
BUJUMBURA (Reuters) - When protesters in Burundi cheer for soldiers who turn up at demonstrations against the president's bid for a third term, it is redolent of uprisings further north in Africa where the military was hailed as friend not foe.
But deploying the army on the streets of Burundi may carry higher stakes than when generals intervened in Cairo and Tunis in 2011 and Ougadougou in 2014 to turf out veteran leaders.
