(MENAFN- The Journal Of Turkish Weekly) The leader of Burundi's ruling party has denied reports of a military coup in the East African country.
"There is neither a coup nor major incidents," Pascal Nyabenda, leader of the ruling CNDD-FDD party, told Anadolu Agency on Wednesday.
He said that ongoing protests in the country "have nothing to do with any coup."
Earlier Wednesday, former intelligence chief Godefroid Niyombare announced the "dismissal" of President Pierre Nkurunziza and his government amid ongoing anti-government protests that have paralyzed the country for almost three weeks.
The presidency, however, tweeted that the coup attempt had failed, giving no further details.
Meanwhile, pro-Nkurunziza army troops tried to drive protesters away from the national television headquarters by firing shots in the air.
Nkurunziza is currently in Tanzania to attend a meeting of the East African Community € a five-state regional bloc of which Burundi is a member € to discuss the country's simmering political crisis.
At least 22 people have been killed in protests and clashes since late April, when Nkurunziza announced plans to seek a third term in office.
Critics say a third-term run by Nkurunziza would violate the terms of the 2000 Arusha agreement, which € along with ending a Hutu-Tutsi civil war € stipulated that Burundi's president should not serve out more than two terms in office.
However, Burundi's Constitutional Court has ruled that Nkurunziza's third-term bid would not violate the constitution.
The court ruled that, since he was elected in 2005 by parliament and not by the people, Nkurunziza's first stint in office should not be counted as his first presidential term.
Nkurunziza, a former rebel leader, has been in power since 2005.
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