The east African nation was plunged into deep crisis after Nkurunziza announced that he was running for another five-year term, with clashes between police and protesters stirring memories of an ethnically-driven civil war that ended just a decade ago.
One of the protesters, Nduwimana Belamie, told Reuters that “a lot of us citizens do not want the constitution to be violated, as the current president is not allowed to lead for a third term.
“We will demonstrate until he steps down.
“Nkurunziza’s decision violates the constitution and the Arusha deal to end the war that pitted rebel groups of the majority Hutu population, including one led by Nkurunziza, against the army which was then commanded by minority Tutsis.’’
Meanwhile, that country’s army was now mixed and had absorbed rival factions, but the coup attempt exposed divisions.
The fate of General Godefroid Niyombare, who had announced the president’s ouster on Wednesday, was still not clear on Saturday, after loyalist troops calmed the streets of the capital on Friday following clashes between the two factions on Thursday.
A Reuters photographer saw the army clearing barricades set up by protesters in some areas of the capital.
Residents of Bujumbura said they were planning to come out in large numbers on Monday to protest against Nkurunziza’s decision to seek a third term.