Burundi’s president returns to country after coup

Burundi’s President Pierre Nkurunziza has returned to the country and his troops say they are in control of key locations, a day after a coup attempt. Mr Nkurunziza announced his return 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, Tanzania’s largest city, to attend a summit on the crisis.

There were no new statements from Gen Niyombare on Thursday, BBC reports.