15th May, 2015
Burundi says it has arrested three generals for their role in an attempted coup but the leader of the bid to overthrow President Pierre Nkurunziza is still on the run.
Gervais Abayeho, Presidential Spokesman, said on Friday those arrested were two Army generals, including former Defence Minister Cyrille Ndayirukiye, and a police general.
He said Maj.-Gen. Godefroid Niyombare, who led the coup attempt, was still on the run, and his whereabouts were not known to government.
Abayeho said the arrests came as Nkurunziza returned to Bujumbura, days after the attempted coup.
He said Nkurunziza was due to address the nation later on Friday.
The coup followed more than two weeks of protests in Bujumbura, in which demonstrators often clashed with police, who were often seen firing live rounds at protesters.
More than 20 people were killed, according to an unofficial tally by activists, while scores were also wounded.
The heavy-handed response of the police drew stern rebuke from Western donors, who have urged the President not to run again.
The US which provided training and equipment to the army, demanded a halt to “violent force” used by police.
The constitution and a peace deal which ended the civil war set a two-term presidential limit, but a court ruled that Nkurunziza could run again.
The court had said this was because the President was appointed by parliament, not elected, to his first term.
His opponents and some donors have questioned the court’s impartiality.
Several African leaders had criticised Nkurunziza’s bid for re-election in the June 26 presidential vote.
The African Union also condemned any attempt to seize “power through violence”.
The European Union, Belgium and the Netherlands have all suspended some aid due to the unrest, particularly donations linked to the elections.
The elections, aside from the presidential polls, also include a parliamentary race scheduled for May 26.
Opponents of the President and others had called for a delay to the elections, although they said a vote should be held by Aug. 26, when Nkurunziza’s current term runs out.