EAC Leaders condemn Burundi coup attempt as Nkurunziza returns home
What you need to know:
- Nkurunziza then left the meeting to return to Burundi, a Tanzanian government spokesman said.
- Other reports indicated that the general who launched the coup Wednesday ordered the closure of Bujumbura airport and land borders.
- Over 20 people have been killed and scores wounded since late April.
- Over 50,000 Burundians have fled into neighbouring nations since the unrest began.
DAR ES SALAAM
East African leaders condemned an attempted coup in Burundi Wednesday, after a top general said he had deposed President Pierre Nkurunziza while he and regional presidents held talks to end weeks of violent protests.
"The summit condemns the coup in Burundi, it does not solve problems in Burundi," Tanzanian President Jakaya Kikwete said.
He was speaking at the end of the day-long crisis meeting of the five-nation East African Community (EAC) — made up of Kenya, Rwanda, Tanzania and Uganda as well as Burundi.
"We call upon the return to the constitutional order.
"Given the situation in Burundi conditions are not conducive for elections, and the summit calls upon the authorities to postpone the elections for a period not beyond the mandate of the current government," Kikwete added, speaking in Tanzania's coastal city of Dar es Salaam.
“The summit calls for elections in respect of the constitution, the electoral law and the spirit of the Arusha peace agreement," Kikwete added.
Nkurunziza then left the meeting to return to Burundi, a Tanzanian government spokesman said.
ORDER TO CLOSE BUJUMBURA AIRPORT
But even as Nkurunziza left Tanzania, other reports indicated that the general who launched the coup Wednesday ordered the closure of Bujumbura airport and land borders.
"I order the closure of the airport and border, and I ask every citizen and law enforcement down to the airport to protect it," General Godefroid Niyombare said in a radio broadcast.
Over 20 people have been killed and scores wounded since late April, when Burundi's ruling party nominated President Pierre Nkurunziza to stand for a third term in the June 26 elections, triggering daily protests.
Violence in Burundi has raised fears of a return to violence in the central African state, which is still recovering from a brutal 13-year civil war that ended in 2006.
Critics say a third term for Nkurunziza runs counter to both the constitution and the Arusha accords that ended the war.
Over 50,000 Burundians have fled into neighbouring nations since the unrest began.
