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Burundi's head of the army said Thursday that a military coup attempt that began Tuesday against President Pierre Nkurunziza has failed.
"The coup attempt failed, loyal forces are still controlling all strategic points," said Army Chief of Staff General Prime Niyongabo in a statement broadcast on state radio. His announcement came after a night of negotiations between Gen Niyongabo and the defense minister, who backs the coup, according to the BBC.
Nkurunziza flew back from a summit in Tanzania Thursday to find the airport closed to stop him from landing. His plane reportedly returned to Tanzania. A senior Tanzanian presidential security official told AFP that he is currently in a secret location in Dar es Salaam.
Witnesses told Reuters that fighting and heavy gunfire was still taking place in the capital Bujumbura. Others said two men dressed in police uniforms had attacked two private radio stations that Tuesday aired the announcement of another army chief, Major General Godefroid Niyombare, who said that he had dismissed Nkurunziza because his third presidential bid violated the constitution.
"Regarding President Nkurunziza's arrogance and defiance of the international community which advised him to respect the constitution and Arusha peace agreement, the committee for the establishment of the national concord decide: President Nkurunziza is dismissed, his government is dismissed too," Niyombare was quoted as saying.
The East African leaders condemned the bid to oust the president and called for a return to "constitutional order."
The continental body African Union also condemned the attempted coup late Wednesday, "The chairperson condemns in the strongest terms today's coup attempt in Bujumbura, calls for the return to constitutional order and urges all stakeholders to exercise utmost restraint," AU Commission Chairwoman Nkosazana Dlamini Zuma said in a statement.
The country has seen weeks of unrest, as opponents of the president took to the streets to protest his bid for a third term in office, which protesters argue is unconstitutional. Under the Burundi constitution, a president is only entitled for two terms in office voted by a public election.
However, supporters of the president say that his first term was voted by the parliament and not by the public, thus making him eligible for a third term.
According to activists, more than 20 people have been killed since the beginning of the unrest. The United Nations estimates that more than 70,000 people have fled the violence to neighboring countries, worrying that the country could plunge in a fresh conflict similar to the 12-year-long ethnically-fueled civil war that ended in 2005.
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