By: Unknown on 10:18 PM

Terrifying moment female police officer shoots at unarmed protesters at point-blank range with a Kalashnikov during protests in Burundi... before the mob takes its bloody revenge

Female officer and her colleagues approached protesters who had turned violent in the capital Bujumbura
She appears to panic as one of the rioters grapples with her colleague and opens fire from point-blank range
Rioters reacted furiously, separating her from her colleagues, disarming her and dragging her down the street
Comes as the Burundian army claimed to have stage a coup to depose embattled President Pierre Nkurunziza
Those claims were quickly denied by the presidential office, however, which said the attempted coup had failed

Published: 10:04 GMT, 13 May 2015 | Updated: 13:57 GMT, 13 May 2015

This is the moment a Burundian police officer opened fire on anti-government protesters at point-blank range, causing a furious mob to attack her with stones and knives.

The incident took place on the streets of the capital Bujumbura as officers clashed with dozens of rioters who had taken to the street to demonstrate against President Pierre Nkurunziza's controversial bid for third term in office.

Video footage shows the female officer looking agitated as she and her fellow officers slowly move towards the rioters, who stand pressed against a brick wall. Moments later a brief scuffle between one of her colleagues and a rioter leads to her shooting at the man from no more than ten feet.

Just seconds after the shots were fired, the policewoman was punched, kicked and dragged along the streets of Bujumbura by a furious mob who managed to separate her from her colleagues.

Harrowing images show the woman attempting to flee for her life while knife and stone-wielding men fight among themselves to reach her. Eventually the female officer's colleagues managed to get between her and her attackers, enabling her to flee to safety with only minor injuries.

This morning the Burundian army claimed to have seized control of the East African country, adding that they were deposing embattled Nkurunziza. Those claims were quickly denied by the presidential office, however, which posted a message Twitter saying that an attempted coup had failed.

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Firepower: The female officer slowly moved towards the rioters, who stand pressed against a brick wall. Moments later a brief scuffle between one of her colleagues and a demonstrator leads to her shooting at the man from no more than ten feet

The 20-second long video shows the armed female police officer (left) looking agitated as she and her colleagues approach the rioters

The 20-second long video shows the female police officer looking decidedly agitated as she and her colleagues approach the rioters.

Despite carrying a large assault rifle and wearing a riot helmet, the woman appears to panic as one of her colleagues approaches an unarmed protester.

The two men grapple with one another momentarily, before the rioter manages to break free and attempts to run back towards his fellow protesters.

The site of the man escaping clearly spooks the female officer and she immediately opens fire on him, appearing to shoot the man in the leg.

It is not known why the individual was being targeted by officers and there is no information available about his condition.

Seconds after the attack took place, the rioters turned on the police officer, separating her from her colleagues, stripping her of her gun and helmet and dragging her by her feet along the road.

Men punched and kicked the woman as she was dragged from the scene, while others attempted to stone her and a group carrying large kitchen knives did their best to reach her.

Thankfully the woman's colleagues managed to seize control of the situation and rescued her from the mob before they could inflict serious injuries.

Sick: Protesters chase and thrown stones at a female police officer they accused of opening fire on protesters in Bujumbura yesterday

Furious Burundian protesters violently carry a female police officer they accused of opening fire on them in the capital Bujumbura

The female police officer is dragged along on the street and kicked in the head by a group of men who accused her of shooting at them

Two men appear to be protecting the police officer while several others - including one wearing Chelsea football shorts - punch and kick her

The female police officer is struck on the head by an object held by one of the men protesting in the Buterere neighbourhood of Bujumbura

A helmeted police officer and another man in a black polo shirt attempt to hold back the crowds throwing stones and kicking at her

A man carrying a large knife is seen among the rioters who appear to have been attempting to kill the female police officer

At least one protester died in yesterday's violence, while two others were reportedly killed overnight in a grenade explosion.

The latest deaths bring the number killed in more than two weeks of anti-government protests to more than 20 and come as African leaders prepare to hold a crisis meeting in Tanzania tomorrow.

This morning there were reports that police officers had once again opened fire on demonstrators in Bujumbura.

Shortly afterwards the Burundian Army announced via radio broadcast that it has seized control of the country.

'Active Forces of the Nation have decided to take charge of the country,' said Godefroid Niyombareh, who was fired by Nkurunziza as intelligence chief earlier this year. 'President Pierre Nkurunziza is removed from office,' he added.

Almost immediately a Twitter account for the Burundian presidential office posted a message pouring cold water on the coup claims, saying that a potential takeover of the country had 'failed'.

'The situation is under control, there is no coup in Burundi,' the message read.

A South African foreign ministry spokesman said 'it's way too early to say' whether a coup had actually taken place in Burundi but added the situation was being closely monitored.

Protest organisers in the capital urged African leaders meeting in Tanzania today to demand that their president halt his bid for a third term, which has triggered the nation's worst crisis since an ethnically fuelled civil war ended in 2005.

At least two gunshots rang out as protesters returned to the streets of Burundi's capital today. Activists say Nkurunziza's bid for another five years violates two-term limits in the constitution and the peace deal that ended the civil war.

East African leaders and a top official from continental heavyweight South Africa met in Tanzania's commercial capital Dar es Salaam this morning to discuss the crisis that has already spilled over into a region with a history of ethnic conflict.

Protection: The female police officer manages to get hold of a gun as the man in black gets between her and the furious protesters

The female officer looks anguished while a policeman wearing a helmet and carrying a gun pleads with the demonstrators to withdraw

The bloodied female officer cowers in terror as she makes her way along a road in the Buterere neighbourhood of Bujumbura, Burundi

The man in the black t-shirt comforts the female officer and her colleagues finally manage to take control of the situation

A senior police officer manages to escort the woman away from the scene while the stone-carrying protesters argue among themselves

Painful: The injured female officer is eventually helped from the scene by two male colleagues after escaping the rampaging mob

The violence comes just a week after protesters burned a man to death in Bujumbura because they believed he was a part of the ruling party's militant youth wing - and a protester was shot amid political tension caused by the president's campaign for an unconstitutional third term.

An eyewitness said the crowd 'put tyres around his neck and then burned him'.

It was also claimed that a protester was shot dead as police shot into the crowds to disperse the demonstrators.

The mob believed the man they burned alive to be a member of Imbonerakure, a youth militia for the ruling CNDD-FDD party, which they claim attacked them last week.

The group has been accused of widespread human rights abuses in the past.

The Government denied the claim that the Imbonerakure has orchestrated attacks on opposition groups and condemned the killing. A presidential spokesman said the government should take 'strenuous measures' to prevent them in the future.

Officers opened fire on demonstrators amid furious clashes on the streets of the capital Bujumbura, as Pierre Nkurunziza defied international pressure to cease his latest campaign for president

At least one protester is understood to have died in yesteray's violence, while two others were killed in a grenade explosion

A policeman runs with a detained protester during a protest in Buterere neighbourhood of Bujumbura, Burundi yesterday morning

Police in Bujumbura opened fire on protesters in an apparent attempt to scatter crowds who wanted to attack the house of a police officer

Sickening: One of the rioters poses with the body of a dead barn owl tied to a cross, in what is believed to be a political gesture

A protestor holds up a dead owl attached to a stick. The symbol is intended to denigrate Burundi's ruling party, whose emblem is an eagle

A policeman detains a protester during a protest in Buterere neighbourhood of Bujumbura yesterday afternoon

The rioter argues with police officers are the accuse him of taking part in the attack on their female colleague

More than 50,000 people have fled to neighbouring states since the current violence broke out. The U.N. refugee agency UNHCR said the crisis was heading towards a 'worst case scenario' that could see 300,000 people fleeing, some to other parts of Burundi and others abroad.

That would mean the displacement of about 3 percent of the 10 million-strong population in one of Africa's most crowded nations.

'We expect the east African heads of state to tell President Nkurunziza that the constitution of Burundi and the Arusha peace agreement do not allow him to run for a third term,' Pacifique Nininahazwe, a civil society activist and protest leader, told Reuters.

A Reuters witnesses saw hundreds of protesters near the parliament in Bujumbura and heard at least two gunshots. Police at the scene fired teargas to disperse them.

In the centre of the capital, another Reuters witness said police used water canon and teargas to disperse a group of about 100 women protesters.

Nkurunziza, 51, who once led a rebel group from the majority Hutu population against the minority Tutsi-led army in the war, has pointed to a constitutional court ruling that said his first term did not count as he was chosen by lawmakers, not voted in.

Protesters say the court was manipulated and Britain and other donors have questioned the court's neutrality.

His bid and the mounting violence have drawn increasingly strong rebukes from Western nations and African colleagues. The United States, a major donor to the national army, said police must stop using 'violent force' against protesters.