Burundi’s state TV suspends newscasts after government coup attempt

PRETORIA, May 14. /TASS/. Burundi’s state-run television has suspended all newscasts after a government coup attempt, the chief of the Russian embassy’s consular department, Pyotr Antipov, has told TASS. "The situation is strained. From time to time shots are heard around the head office of Burundi’s national radio and television building," he said. According to earlier reports, military tried to gain control of the TV centre to meet with resistance from security guards. Antipov said no Russian citizens had been hurt. It is unclear whether President Pierre Nkurunziza has returned to the country. On Wednesday, Nkurunziza was at an emergency summit of the East African Community in neighbouring Tanzania. "There have been conflicting reports forces loyal to the head of state have been trying to quash the rebellion," Antipov said. On Wednesday, former intelligence chief Major-General Godefroid Niyombare declared President Nkurunziza had been ousted from office and a transitional government formed. Niyombare said the president had been deposed following his decision to seek re-election for a third term of office in the June 26 election. Nkurunziza, who represents the Hutu majority, has ruled Burundi for the past ten years. Under the 2005 Constitution the same person can be elected president only for two terms in a row, but Nkurunziza argues that in his case the first term should not be counted, because he had been elected by parliament, and not by direct universal suffrage. Nkurunziza’s decision to run for president again sparked unrest in the capital Bujumbura, which claimed at least 20 lives. According to UN statistics, more than 70,000 refugees - most of them representing the Tutsi minority - have fled the country for fear of more ethnic violence. Burundi is a small country in the Great African Lakes area with a population of ten million. The Hutu majority accounts for 85 percent of the population, and Tutsi, for 14 percent. A ten-year-conflict between them at the end of last century ended with the conclusion of a reconciliation agreement in Arusha in 2000. Read more