Election Day Attacks Mar Vote in Burundi

Violence has marred local elections in Burundi where voters took part in the first multiparty poll since civil war broke out 12 years ago.

Explosions and gunfire forced more than 250 polling stations to close early, Friday.

Officials say at least one person was killed and another wounded in a grenade attack in a suburb of the capital, Bujumbura.

In another part of the city, a South African peacekeeper was wounded when assailants opened fire at a polling station.

Police say they do not yet know who is behind the attacks.

The local elections are the first in a series of planned polls in the country this year. They are seen as an important step in ending the civil war between Burundi's minority Tutsis and majority Hutus.

Some information for this report provided by AP, AFP and Reuters.