Burundi president sacks key ministers after coup bid

Burundi's president sacked his defence and foreign minister today after a failed coup bid, as hundreds of protesters defied warnings to end demonstrations and resumed weeks of anti-government street marches.
Protesters opposed to President Pierre Nkurunziza's bid for a third term in power gathered in several parts of the capital Bujumbura, singing songs and blowing whistles, each time chased away by soldiers shooting in the air, then regrouping elsewhere.
"It was courageous to protest today after all the threats that demonstrators have received from the authorities... And the presence of many heavily armed soldiers, who have not stopped firing live rounds -- but fortunately into the air and not at demonstrators," said Pacifique Nininahazwe, a protest leader.

Nkurunziza meanwhile named Emmanuel Ntahonvukiye, a civilian, as his new defence minister, and Alain Aime Nyamitwe as foreign minister, as well as replacing the trade minister.
Tensions also surfaced within the army as well as in government.
Five days on since the coup attempt led by a top general -- which saw soldiers battling each other on the streets -- troops have largely replaced the police to stem the protests.

One soldier shouted at protesters to "leave the streets", warning that they were not going to fire water cannon, but guns. "We are firing water, we are firing bullets," he shouted.

Before the coup attempt the army was seen by many protesters as being more neutral than the police -- often standing between demonstrators and the police -- and some soldiers were unhappy at the force's role.
"We are not there to shoot people," one said.
At least 20 people died in street battles with security forces before the demonstrations ended when generals launched a failed coup attempt last week.
Nininahazwe called for a "peaceful march," saying that protesters had "conquered fear" and that the numbers would grow in size in coming days.
When the army fired shots into the air, protesters reacting by lying down on the ground, raising their hands in the air and singing the national anthem.

Bujumbura mayor Juma Saidi, speaking on state television yesterday, warned that "demonstrators will be considered as part of the coup, and security forces have been ordered to treat them as such".