Earlier today gunfire erupted in Bujumbura, the capital, following the coup attempt. Troops of the president claim that they continue to remain in control of the city.
Pierre Nkurunziza, the President of Burundi, has returned to the country according to an announcement he made on Twitter.
This announcement comes a day after a coup attempt by Army General Godefroid Niyombare, who announced Wednesday on the radio that President Nkurunziza had been dismissed.
Earlier today gunfire erupted in Bujumbura, the capital, following the coup attempt. Troops of the president claim that they continue to remain in control of the city.
Protests in Burundi begun last month after Nkurunziza announced he would be running for a third term, a decision opponents considered unconstitutional.
The political infighting is being amplified by ethnic tensions, and sparking fears that Burundi will once again plunge into ethnic violence between its two largest groups, the Hutus and Tutsis.
Since the violence began, over 20 people have died with at least 5 of them confirmed to have been soldiers.
So far, over 50,000 refugees have streamed into neighboring Congo, Tanzania, and Rwanda in hopes of avoiding the violence.
There are no reliable reports on the whereabouts from the Army General who announced the coup, Godefroid Niyombareh.