BUJUMBURA, Burundi: Burundian soldiers clashed with gunmen Friday in a northern region near Rwanda, a local official and the military said, in the latest violence ahead of controversial elections due next week.

The crisis in Burundi revolves around President Pierre Nkurunziza’s bid to stand for a third straight five-year term, which his opponents say is unconstitutional and violates a peace deal that ended a dozen years of civil war in 2006.

Army spokesman Col. Gaspard Baratuza reported shooting and “a situation of insecurity” near Rugazi, 140 kilometers (85 miles) north of the capital Bujumbura, in a thickly forested area.

He said soldiers had been sent there to investigate.

“An armed group attacked an army position... we heard shooting and the explosions of heavy weapons,” a local government official said. There are fears the current crisis could plunge the poor, landlocked country back into civil war.

Over 70 people have been killed in more than two months of protests, with over 158,000 refugees fleeing to neighboring countries, according to the latest UN figures.

Presidential elections are scheduled to take place on July 15, although on Monday the East African Community (EAC) held an emergency summit on Burundi and called for them to be delayed until July 30.

Burundi’s government said Friday it backed regional calls to postpone controversial polls, but only by a few days, saying it had asked the election commission to implement the delay.