Coup attempt fails.

The coup attempt in Burundi by a group of junior army officers is over and the perpetrators have surrendered, Defence Minister Cyrille Ndayirukiye announced on Thursday. A group of about 30 soldiers, led by Lieutenant Gaston Ntakarutimana, briefly took over the state radio and television station on Wednesday and announced that the hitherto unknown Front de la Jeunesse Patriotique (FJP) had taken control of the country. President Pierre Buyoya was away in Gabon at the time, but is said to be returning to Burundi. Forces loyal to Buyoya surrounded the radio station and the coup attempt ended in the early hours of the morning. “The dissidents have given themselves up,” Ndayirukiye told reporters after conducting negotiations with the plotters. No casualties have been reported in the attempted coup and the capital Bujumbura was said to be calm on Thursday.

The 30 mutineers were serving at the Gakumbo military barracks near Bujumbura airport. In a radio broadcast before their surrender, their leader Gaston Ntakarutimana said they had overthrown Buyoya and his government “in the interest of Burundians and foreigners living in our country”. He accused the National Assembly of comprising “those who carried out the genocide [against Tutsis]”. He said Burundians were being “massacred by armed gangs that enjoy the support of some members of the government and parliament”. “We are not against the Arusha [peace] talks, but we reject those who claim to represent us,” Ntakarutimana added. He also expressed his movement’s opposition to Buyoya’s talks in Libreville, Gabon, with rebel leader Jean-Bosco Ndayikengurukiye of the Conseil national pour la defense de la democratie-Forces pour la defense de la democratie (CNDD-FDD).