Updated

Police used tear gas to disperse an opposition protest in Burkina Faso's capital, as tensions increase ahead of a vote this week on whether the country's longtime president can seek another term.

Thousands of people who say 27 years in power is long enough for President Blaise Compaore gathered in a square in the capital of Ouagadougou on Tuesday.

The parliament votes Thursday on a bill that calls for a constitutional amendment to increase term limits. The measure looks likely to pass after the ruling party received support from a smaller party.

The protest was largely peaceful until some began pushing against the barricades and threatened to move toward the parliament. Police fired tear gas to disperse the crowd, which had mostly gone home by the afternoon.