UN Security Council ambassadors met Burundi's leaders on Friday to push peace efforts after another night of violence in the capital of the troubled central African nation.
Clashes in Bujumbura overnight Thursday left one person dead and another wounded, violence that has become a near nightly event in the city.
The 15 council members were greeted on arrival on Thursday by pro-government demonstrators telling them to stop meddling.
The visit is the council's second to Burundi in less than a year, with ambassadors set to deliver a face-to-face message to Nkurunziza later to take urgent action to stop the violence sparked by his re-election bid. They first met Friday morning with vice president Gaston Sindimwo, who admitted to the diplomats that it was "true there are problems," but insisted "the government will do everything in its power to bring peace and security." More than 400 people have died since April, when Nkurunziza announced his ultimately successful re-election bid, and at least 230,000 have fled to neighbouring countries. The UN has warned that the violence could escalate into ethnic killings and mass atrocities. A local official and witnesses said a youth was shot dead by police after a grenade went off in Bujumbura and a second person was wounded, with explosions and gunfire heard in several places across the city at night. Council envoys are pushing for the government to hold talks with the opposition and agree to an international presence -- such as a proposed 5,000-strong African Union force -- to restore stability.