Bujumbura, May 15 (IANS/EFE) Military leaders attempting a coup in Burundi over the past two days to depose President Pierre Nkurunziza announced their surrender to the authorities on Friday, according to media reports.
The coup leaders surrendered hours after the president announced that he was on his way home from a conference with East African leaders in Tanzania, during which a faction of the army announced his ouster.
The attempted coup was put to rest early Friday morning in a call to the defence ministry, after which the perpetrators were detained by forces loyal to President Nkurunziza.
Among those arrested, according to Bujumbura News, were Gen. Ndayirukiye Cyrille and two police chiefs, although Gen. Godefroid Niyombare, the primary leader of the coup, was not detained.
On Thursday night, after a day of heavy fighting on the streets of Bujumbura, Nkurunziza announced that he would return to the country, and asked the citizens of his country "to remain calm" in a Twitter post.
Waves of protest flooded Burundi after Nkurunziza announced his unconstitutional run for a third presidential term in June's election, while the situation was made worse by the heavy-handed suppression of protesters, resulting in the deaths of 20 people.
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