Burundi thwarts coup attempt
2001-07-23 10:15
Bujumbura - Burundi authorities put down an attempted coup d'etat overnight, the defence minister announced on Monday on national radio.
Loyalist forces were restoring order, General Cyrille Ndayirukiye
said. Gunshots and grenade explosions were heard in several areas
of the capital through the night.
The announcement came as African heads of state prepared to meet in Arusha, Tanzania, to set the seal on an 18-month transitional
presidency for Pierre Buyoya under Burundi's peace plan.
Buyoya, a Tutsi, is to hand over to a Hutu president for the second 18 months of the transition period, although several signatories to the peace plan now oppose Buyoya's staying on in power in Burundi, where civil war has killed more than 200 000 people, mostly civilians, since 1983.
"A group of rebel soldiers who refuse to take the issue of peace seriously tried once again to stop the peace process by force," Ndayirukiye said.
"At the moment, loyalist soldiers and officers are restoring
order," he added.
Witnesses told AFP that the shooting appeared to be centered in
predominantly Tutsi districts near the national radio station. - AFP
- SAPA