Burundi coup leaders claim to control capital
The leaders of a coup against Burundian President Pierre Nkurunziza claim to have gained control of the capital, Bujumbura.
“We control virtually the entire city. The soldiers who are being deployed are on our side,” Burundi’s police commissioner and a spokesman for the coup leaders Venon Ndabaneze told AFP.
He had earlier denied claims by Nkurunziza loyalists that the coup had failed and insisted that the opponents were in control of several main building and facilities, including Bujumbura’s international airport.
Heavy fighting between rival factions of the armed forces had been reported in the early hours of the day around the state television and radio complex.
Failed or not?
On Wednesday, the country’s former intelligence chief, Major General Godefroid Niyombare, announced the central African nation’s president had been toppled.
Following the announcement, hundreds of people reportedly took to the streets in the capital, shouting “Victory!”
This is while the chief of staff of Burundi’s army, Major General Prime Niyongabo, announced on state radio that forces loyal to the president, who managed to stop the coup, were in control of the presidential office.
Army chief Niyongabo said, “The attempted coup by General Godefroid Niyombare has been stopped,” adding, “The national defense force calls on the mutineers to give themselves up.”
President’s whereabouts
President Nkurunziza, who has traveled to neighboring African country of Tanzania for talks with regional leaders, is said to be in a secret location in the port city of Dar es Salaam.
“He is in Dar es Salaam, we cannot tell you where. We cannot bring him to the same hotel for security reasons,” a senior Tanzanian presidential security official, among other sources, told AFP.
Daily demonstrations erupted in Burundi late April after the president announced his decision to bid for a third term in upcoming presidential elections in June.
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