A Burundi
army general says senior officers are "dismissing" President Pierre
Nkurunziza, amid unrest over his bid to be re-elected to a third term.
Maj Gen
Godefroid Niyombareh announced that a national salvation committee had been set
up to run the country.
However,
it is not clear how much support he and the other officers have.
President
Nkurunziza is currently in Tanzania meeting other East African leaders to
discuss the crisis.
His aide dismissed
the coup claims as "a joke".
President
Nkurunziza has rejected calls to postpone next month's election.
Gen
Niyombareh, in a statement read to reporters in a military base, said he did
not recognize the leadership because the president's bid for a third term
violated the constitution.
Soldiers
have surrounded the offices of the national broadcaster in the capital,
Bujumbura.
Gen
Niyombareh's "national salvation committee" comprises at least five
other army and police generals.
One
eyewitness told reporters that crowds who had earlier been out on the streets
of the capital protesting against the president were now cheering and
celebrating his apparent dismissal.
The
unrest began on 26 April and has led to the deaths of more than 20 people.
Tens of
thousands of Burundians have fled to neighbouring states in recent weeks.
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