Wednesday, 13 May 2015
Citizens take to the streets jubilating as Burundi President Nkuruziza faces attempted coup
Thousands of people in the capital, Bujumbura, celebrated the announcement by Major General Godefroid Niyombare.
But the coup outcome is far from clear.
The presidency said it had been foiled. Mr Nkurunziza left a summit he was attending in Tanzania to try to return home but some unconfirmed reports say his plane has now returned to Tanzania.
Gen Niyombare said in a radio address he had ordered "the closure of the airport and border, and I ask every citizen and law enforcement down to the airport to protect it".
Mr Nkurunziza had been in Dar es Salaam to discuss the crisis with regional leaders. Tanzanian President Jakaya Kikwete said the summit condemned the coup.
The masses vigorously and tenaciously reject President Nkurunziza's third-term mandate... President Pierre Nkurunziza has been relieved of his duties. The government is overthrown."
He said the mission of the salvation committee was the "restoration of national unity... and the resumption of the electoral process in a peaceful and fair environment".
The unrest began on 26 April and has led to the deaths of more than 20 people.
Tens of thousands of Burundians have fled to neighbouring states in recent weeks.
President Nkurunziza has rejected calls to postpone next month's election. However, the summit in Tanzania urged him to do so.
The 51-year-old former rebel leader argues that he is entitled to run for a third term because he was first appointed to the role by parliament in 2005.
The constitution states a president should govern only for two terms, but earlier this month a court upheld Mr Nkurunziza's interpretation.
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