Burundi failed coup leader 'overestimated army's support'
- 9 years ago
We talked to Olivier Caslin, a journalist with ‘Young Africa’ magazine, who knows Burundi well, about the latest turbulence there.
Olivier Péguy, euronews: “This country in the Great Lakes region has seen highly active opposition to President Pierre Nkurunziza. Why do you think the attempted coup failed?”
Olivier Caslin: “The coup leader, General Godefroid Niyombare, might have had too high an opinion of himself. He thought he had the army behind him and then as the hours passed it turned out that there was really only a marginal group. There was a lot of negotiating between the two army factions, the loyalists on one side, those with the coup on the other, that lasted all Wednesday afternoon and late through Thursday, and it seems no agreement was reached. The loyalists took the opportunity to re-take private radio stations that the plotters had seized and so, since this morning, the fight has gone out of the coup.”
euronews: “Do you think this signals the end of the movement co
Olivier Péguy, euronews: “This country in the Great Lakes region has seen highly active opposition to President Pierre Nkurunziza. Why do you think the attempted coup failed?”
Olivier Caslin: “The coup leader, General Godefroid Niyombare, might have had too high an opinion of himself. He thought he had the army behind him and then as the hours passed it turned out that there was really only a marginal group. There was a lot of negotiating between the two army factions, the loyalists on one side, those with the coup on the other, that lasted all Wednesday afternoon and late through Thursday, and it seems no agreement was reached. The loyalists took the opportunity to re-take private radio stations that the plotters had seized and so, since this morning, the fight has gone out of the coup.”
euronews: “Do you think this signals the end of the movement co