Leaders of failed coup in Burundi surrender
Attempts to force the Burundian president from power have been foiled, with coup leaders conceding and being arrested or hunted down by loyalist troops.
On Friday, the coup leader General Godefroid Niyombare said he wanted to give himself up, and that he was being approached by soldiers supporting President Pierre Nkurunziza.
"We have decided to surrender," said the top general. "I hope they won't kill us."
The coup leaders' spokesman, Venon Ndabaneze, also said, "We decided to give ourselves up. We have laid down our arms. We have called the security ministry to tell them we no longer have any arms."
Meanwhile, Burundian civil society groups called for renewed street protests on Friday against a third term bid by the president.
"In principle, civil society is against coups, but we note that Burundians welcomed with great joy the attempted coup, which shows that the Burundian people today needs change," civil society leader Vital Nshimirimana said.
"We stopped the protests against the third term because there was shooting with heavy weapons on the streets of Bujumbura, now we call on Burundians to again mobilize and to resume the demonstrations," Nshimirimana added.
This as Nkurunziza has returned to the capital Bujumbura and will deliver an address to the nation on Friday, officials in the president's office said.
"He is in Bujumbura in a very secure place," an aide to the president said. "He will address the nation today."
The general announced the overthrow of the head of state on Wednesday, following weeks of violent protests against his bid to stand for a third term.
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Niyombare, who had been sacked from his position as the country's powerful chief of intelligence in February, said top officers were "dismissing" Nkurunziza and that a national salvation committee had been set up to run the country.
The announcement came hours after Nkurunziza had arrived in neighboring Tanzania for talks to end the crisis.
Later on Wednesday, however, Burundi's presidency said in a message posted on Twitter that an attempted coup by the general had "failed." "The situation is under control, there is no coup in Burundi," it read.
Also on Friday, the presidency announced that Nkurunziza had returned to the country.
The United Nations Security Council had denounced the coup on Thursday, demanding an end to the violence in the Southeast African country.
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