Coup d'etat in Burundi: President Nkurunziza ousted by the army

The Former head of the intelligence service of Burundi, General Godefroid Nyombare, has announced the removal of President Pierre Nkurunziza, who is presently en route to Dar es Salaam for a summit on the Burundi crisis. Godefroid Nyombare, a former senior Burundian army officer said on Wednesday that he ousted President Pierre Nkurunziza because his candidacy for a third term has caused nearly three weeks of a bloody political crisis in Burundi.

President Pierre Nkurunziza has now been removed from office and the government dissolved. General Nyombare who was sacked in February by the head of state after having recommended that President Nkurunziza should not seek a third mandate is now in charge. Soldiers have taken up positions around state radio and television.  President Nkurunziza is currently in Tanzania for a summit on the crisis in Burundi.