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Burundi coup leaders arrested – reports


Some of the leaders of a failed coup against Burundi’s president have been arrested, reports say.

It is not clear if their leader, General Godefroid Niyombare, is among them.

General Niyombare, who launched the coup attempt on Wednesday, told the AFP agency: “I hope they won’t kill us.”

Another of the renegade generals admitted earlier that the attempt to overthrow the president had failed.

Burundi’s President Pierre Nkurunziza has tweeted he is back in the country.

“We have decided to surrender,” General Niyombare told AFP.

He added that troops loyal to the president were approaching him.

Throughout Thursday, there were fatal clashes in the capital, Bujumbura, leaving at least five soldiers dead.

Thousands celebrated on the streets of the capital after General Niyombare announced the takeover on national radio on Wednesday whilst President Nkurunziza attended a summit in Tanzania.

This followed weeks of protests against Mr Nkurunziza’s decision to seek a third term in office, an apparently unconstitutional move, causing tens of thousands to flee the country.