Burundi army general has announced the overthrow of President Pierre Nkurunziza who is in Tanzania for East African Community meeting.
Major General Godefroid Niyombareh said a salvation committee had been set up to run the country.
Thousands of protesters have come out in the major streets in the capital, Bujumbura in support of the army coup.
President Nkurunziza aide dismissed the coup claims as “a joke” while official twitter account said the attempt has failed.
Nkurunziza, a former rebel leader from the Hutu majority who has been in power since 2005, has come under intense international pressure to withdraw from next month’s election and stand down.
More than 50,000 Burundians have fled into neighboring nations since the unrest began.
