East African leaders condemn Burundi coup attempt

Tanzania's President Jakaya Kikwete, present during the EAC Heads of State meet on Burundi said coup will not solve problems.

East African leaders condemned an attempted coup in Burundi Wednesday, after a top general said he had deposed President Pierre Nkurunziza while he and regional presidents held talks to end weeks of violent protests.

"The summit condemns the coup in Burundi, it does not solve problems in Burundi," Tanzanian President Jakaya Kikwete said at the end of the day-long crisis meeting of the five-nation East African Community (EAC) -- made up of Kenya, Rwanda, Tanzania and Uganda as well as Burundi.

"We call upon the return to the constitutional order," Kikwete added, speaking in Tanzania's coastal city of Dar es Salaam.

"Given the situation in Burundi conditions are not conducive for elections in Burundi, and the summit calls upon the authorities to postpone the elections for a period not beyond the mandate of the current government."

Over 20 people have been killed and scores wounded since late April, when Burundi's ruling party nominated President Pierre Nkurunziza to stand for a third term on June 26, triggering daily protests.

Nkurunziza then left the meeting to return to Burundi, a Tanzanian government spokesman said.

However coup leader General Godefroid Niyombare swiftly ordered the closure of Bujumbura airport and the country's land borders.

The unrest in Burundi comes with the central African state still recovering from a brutal 13-year civil war that ended in 2006.

Critics say a third term for Nkurunziza runs counter to both the constitution and the Arusha accords that ended the war.

The summit calls for elections "in respect of the constitution, the electoral law and the spirit of the Arusha peace agreement," Kikwete added.

Over 50,000 Burundians have fled into neighbouring nations since the unrest began.