05/15/2015
Burundiâs President Pierre Nkurunziza says he has returned to the country and his troops say they are in control of key points, a day after a coup attempt.Mr Nkurunziza said he had come back on the Burundi presidency Twitter site.There were earlier fierce clashes in the capital, Bujumbura, particularly at the state radio office, but they are now said to have subsided. Five soldiers are reported killed.Mr Nkurunziza had been in Tanzania when the coup began on Wednesday.Protests began in Burundi on 26 April when Mr Nkurunziza announced he was seeking a third term, a move his opponents said was unconstitutional.The coup was launched by Maj Gen Godefroid Niyombare, a former ally of the president, on Wednesday after Mr Nkurunziza travelled to Dar es Salaam, Tanzaniaâs largest city, to attend a summit on the crisis.There were no new statements from Gen Niyombare on Thursday but a spokesman for the coup forces, Gen Cyrille Ndayirukiye, told Agence France-Presse the uprising had failed.âWe faced an overpowering military determination to support the system in power,â he said.Thursdayâs events as they unfoldedWhatâs behind the coup bid?Timeline of eventsBurundian presidential spokesman W***y Nyamitwe told the BBC on Thursday that the president had left Tanzania and was âsafe and soundâ.He later confirmed that Mr Nkurunziza was in Burundi but would give no more details due to âsecurity reasonsâ.He had earlier told Radio France Internationale: âThe loyalist army is present, his advisers are present and the government is present. The country, then, continues to function.âIn his Twitter posting, Mr Nkurunziza said: âI thank the army and police for their patriotism. Above all I thank Burundians for their patience.ââFighting has stoppedâArmy chief of staff Gen Prime Niyongabo told the BBCâs Maud Jullien the number of soldiers backing the coup had fallen.âOn Wednesday evening we gave them the chance to rejoin the army to avoid a bloodbath. But they tried to attack the radio station today â the army repelled the attack.âWe are in control of all strategic points in the countryhttps://twitter.com/BdiPresidence?lang=en&lang=en
Senaste Tweets frÄn Burundi | Présidence (): "Tentative de coup d'Etat échouée au "
