Burundian opposition Burundian government Agathon Rwasa[3] Godefroid NiyombareCyrille Ndayirukiye President Pierre NkurunzizaAdolphe Nshimirimana † On 25 April 2015, the ruling political party in Burundi, the National Council for the Defense of Democracy – Forces for the Defense of Democracy (CNDD-FDD), announced that the incumbent President of Burundi, Pierre Nkurunziza, would run for a third term in the 2015 presidential election.

On 13 May 2015, a coup was announced, led by Major General Godefroid Niyombare, while President Nkurunziza was in Tanzania attending an emergency conference about the situation in the country.

The country's government does not have enough money to fund needed programs and the economy is reliant on coffee exports whose price has fluctuated radically in recent years and made long-term financial planning nearly impossible.

[5] The announcement sparked protests by those opposed to Nkurunziza and those who claimed a third term would be a violation of the country's constitution which says no President can be elected more than twice.

[15] On 1 May, a grenade attack took place in Bujumbura and killed three people, including two policemen,[16] and human rights organizations said that protesters had been beaten and arrested.

[15] On 2 May, Security Minister, General Gabriel Nizigama said the protests were an "uprising" and that the demonstrators would be regarded as "criminals, terrorists and even enemies of the country".

[8] The International Red Cross says at least six people were killed in the demonstrations, and Rupert Colville, a spokesman for the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights says that over 400 protesters were detained, and some were beaten in prison.

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.

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

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

[38] Zedi Feruzi, the leader of a small opposition party, the Union for Peace and Development, was shot and killed along with his bodyguard in Bujumbura on 23 May 2015.

[43][44] On 27 June, "a group of unidentified young people" set fire to a building in Ntega district where ballot boxes and voting booths were being kept, destroying some of them.

[45] Pie Ntavyohanyuma, the President of the National Assembly, fled to Belgium on 28 June 2015, citing the unrest and his opposition to Nkurunziza's third term bid.

"[46] Speaking to a Kenyan television station on 6 July, one of the coup leaders, General Leonard Ngendakumana, called for armed rebellion against Nkurunziza.

He was said to have been heavily involved in countering protests against Nkurunziza and defeating the coup attempt, and he was accused by some of organizing murders of government opponents.

[54] Pierre Claver Mbonimpa, a prominent human rights activist and opponent of Nkurunziza, was shot in Bujumbura on 3 August and "very badly wounded".

In an attempt to improve the security situation, Nkurunziza said on 2 November 2015 that anyone illegally possessing firearms must surrender them within five days or "be prosecuted according to the anti-terrorism law and be dealt with as enemies of the nation".

[61] On 6 November, Welly Nzitonda, the son of opposition activist Pierre Claver Mbonimpa, was found dead a few hours after being arrested.

[66] Other residents posted pictures on social media showing some of the bodies with their hands tied behind their backs, while police spokesman Pierre Nkurikiye said there were "no collateral victims."

Baratuza added that those who attempted to raid the Ngagara military camp retreated and were pursued by security forces who "inflicted on them considerable losses."

[67] In the context of this violence, the African Union announced in mid-December 2015 that it planned to send peacekeepers to Burundi, but the government rejected any such deployment and said that if the troops were sent without its permission, it would be considered an invasion.

The Burundian government subsequently began to claim that RED-Tabara was led by a prominent opposition figure, Alexis Sinduhije, and affiliated with the Movement for Solidarity and Democracy party.

[73] On 12 May 2017, Nkurunziza appointed a commission to draft changes to the constitution in line with the outcome of the consultative process, which backed the removal of term limits, within six months.

[78][79] On the night of 17 August 2017, at least three people were killed and 27 wounded in Bujumbura, after grenades were thrown into two bars in the Buyenzi district, according to police and hospital sources.

[70] In the next month, unidentified militants ambushed Burundian Army soldiers at the Burundi-Rwanda border, resulting in accusations by the Brundian government that Rwanda was supporting local rebel groups.

[82] By 6 May 2015 the United Nations reported that 40,000 people had fled to seek safety in neighbouring Rwanda, the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Tanzania.

The government shut down Radio Publique Africaine and blocked instant messaging services and social media sites it said were used to co-ordinate protests.

The United Nations Security Council was due to meet on 9 November 2015 to discuss the crisis, at the behest of the French delegation, who also denounced the wave of "hate speech.