Pretoria - A deputy coup leader said on Thursday that their attempt against Burundian President Pierre Nkurunziza had failed.
"Personally, I recognise that our movement has failed. We were faced with an overpowering military determination to support the system in power," General Cyrille Ndayirukiye said.
On Wednesday, Major General Godefroid Niyombare, a former head of Burundi's National Intelligence, announced that he had overthrown Nkurunziza, his government and the parliament.
The coup attempt took place when the president had gone to Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, to attend an extraordinary summit of the East African Community on Burundi's political stand-off.
Nkurunziza, who returned to his country on Thursday, called on soldiers who are still behind the coup plotters to "surrender."
"I thank security and defence forces who didn't join coup plotters," Nkurunziza told Burundi’s national radio in an interview.
The coup attempt followed a 15-day protest against a third term bid by Nkurunziza, during which at least 20 people were killed.
Reports from Burundi say there was heavy gunfire and that shelling was underway in the Burundi capital of Bujumbura between the opposition troops and soldiers loyal to President Nkurunziza.
Burundi is set to hold general elections in May and June this year.
Meanwhile, the United Nations Security Council on Thursday slammed the unrest in Burundi.
The council "condemned both those who facilitate violence of any kind against civilians and those who seek to seize power by unlawful means," said Lithuanian permanent representative to the UN, Raimonda Murmokaite, who was presiding over a meeting of the council over the situation in Burundi onThursday.
Lithuania is serving the rotating presidency of the council for the month of May.
The 15-member UN body called for "the swift return of the rule of law, and the holding of credible elections" after the closed-door consultation meeting. – SAnews.gov.za-Xinhua
