Violence rocks Bujumbura as coup plotters battle soldiers

The political uncertainty in Burundi worsened on Thursday as gun battles were reported in the capital Bujumbura amid speculation about the whereabouts of President Pierre Nkurunziza.

Soldiers loyal to Mr Nkurunziza said they had retaken the national airport, a day after coup plotters seized it and frustrated the President’s return from Tanzania, where he had attended a regional leaders’ meeting to discuss the Burundi crisis.

Loyalist forces also claimed to have repulsed fighters loyal to the coup leader, Maj-Gen Godefroid Niyombara, a former intelligence chief.

They also said they had beaten back an assault on the national television and radio station.

A spokesman for the coup leader confirmed that his forces had withdrawn after an unsuccessful assault on the station in central Bujumbura. 

Soldiers allied to the coup leader had attacked the RNTB station yesterday after the state broadcaster aired a telephone interview with Mr Nkurunziza, in which he said he was still in charge of the country. 

However, speaking from Tanzania, Mr Nkurunziza said he was willing to forgive the men and officers behind the coup.

On Wednesday, Mr Nkurunziza flew back to Dar es Salaam, after his attempt to return home failed. He was hosted at the Serena Hotel.

Yesterday, however, Tanzanian government officials said they could not confirm whether or not the Burundian leader was still in the country.

There were reports that his allies were trying to sneak him back to Bujumbura. 

“I don’t know where he is,” Foreign Affairs minister Bernard Membe told reporters in Dar.  

His Burundi counterpart, Mr Laurent Kavakure, said Mr Nkurunziza was expected to return to Burundi late yesterday but declined to give details. The heavy security presence at the Serena Hotel in Dar on Wednesday after Mr Nkurunziza checked in was not there yesterday, suggesting that he was no longer there. 

With the success of the coup yet to be confirmed, the battle to control the state broadcaster took on renewed importance after private radio stations were attacked, creating an information vacuum.  

Burundi’s influential independent African Public Radio was hit by a rocket and set ablaze by pro-Nkurunziza police and ruling party youth, according to a rights activist, Mr Innocent Muhozi. 

The Peace and Security Council of the African Union also called a meeting to discuss the Burundi crisis in Addis Ababa, while the UN Security Council was expected to debate the situation in New York. 

In separate statements, France and the European Union called for an end to the violence and a return to civilian rule. The East African Community leaders have condemned the coup, but also called for a postponement of the elections scheduled for May 26 and June 26. 

In Bujumbura, opposition and former rebel leader Agathon Rwasa told the BBC he supported the coup as a means of resolving the stand-off between the ruling party and protesters, but said elections should go ahead, possibly in August.More than 20 people have been killed, hundreds injured and more than 70,000 forced to flee their homes in three weeks of instability sparked by Mr Nkurunziza’s nomination to run for a third term in office.

Reported by Katare Mbashiru in Dar es Salaam, Zephania Ubwani in Arusha and Moses Havyarimana in Bujumbura.