BUJUMBURA
Burundian police on Friday arrested three leaders of a failed coup attempt against President Pierre Nkurunziza, a presidential advisor has said.
"The three will be referred to court," Willy Nyamitwe told Anadolu Agency.
According to the advisor, a spokesman for the coup was among those detained.
A security source, meanwhile, told Anadolu Agency that coup mastermind and former intelligence chief Godefroid Niyombare was still on the run.
Another source said Niyombare was believed to be hiding in a district southern Bujumbura, the Burundian capital.
Earlier in the day, Gen. Cyrille Ndayirukiye, who was considered the second-in-command of the coup attempt, admitted that the coup had failed.
"It failed because we did not receive reinforcements from inside the country," he said.
On Wednesday, a group of generals led by Niyombare announced the dismissal of Nkurunziza, who was in Tanzania attending a regional summit at the time.
Burundi has remained in chaos since April 26, when anti-Nkurunziza demonstrators took to the streets to protest the president's plan to seek a third term in office.
The country's opposition says Nkurunziza does not have the right to seek a third term, citing Burundi's constitution, which limits the number of terms a president can serve to two.
