Coup attempt fails On 13 May 2015, army general Godefroid Niyombare said that he was "dismissing President Pierre Nkurunziza" following the 2015 Burundian unrest.

[2][3] President Nkurunziza was at the time in neighbouring Tanzania attending the 13th Extraordinary Summit of the East African Community Heads of State, which had been convened to discuss the situation in Burundi.

Nevertheless, the head of the armed forces, Prime Niyongabo, said on state radio during the night of 13–14 May that the coup attempt had been defeated, and he called on rebel soldiers to surrender.

Nevertheless, the head of the armed forces, Prime Niyongabo, declared from the RTNB state radio complex during the night of 13–14 May that the coup attempt had been defeated, and he called on rebel soldiers to surrender.

Reuters also heard from witnesses that two private radio stations that broadcast Niyombare's announcement had been attacked by men in police uniforms.

African Union chairperson Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma stated that she "condemns in the strongest terms today's coup attempt" and called for a "return to constitutional order and urges all stakeholders to exercise utmost restraint.

[13] One of the coup leaders, General Cyrille Ndayirukiye, said that "our movement has failed" due to "overpowering military determination to support the system in power".

[16] On 16 May 2015, eighteen people, including former defence minister General Cyrille Ndayirukiye and police commissioners Zenon Ndabaneze and Hermenegilde Nimenya, appeared in court.

[20] As the situation unfolded international media sources returned to Burundi, but the government remained hostile to journalists, dealing with them "as if they were coup plotters.