A Timeline of Events in Burundi (Part 4)

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• May 5: Protests are less intense than in previous days but continue, andpolice fire in the air near the US embassy to disperse demonstrators.
• May 5: Burundi’s Constitutional Court confirms a third term for Nkurunziza would be constitutional.
• May 5: Tanzanian President Jakaya Kikwete urges foreign ministers from EAC member-states to investigate the situation in Burundi.
• May 5: Former President Domitien Ndayizeye criticizes Nkurunziza’s desire to stand for a third term.
• May 5: Vice President Prosper Bazombaza says his government respects the Arusha accord and the Constitution, and that the government is ready to release arrested demonstrators to aid dialogue.
• May 5: Rwanda’s Foreign Minister Louise Mushikiwabo states that while Rwanda respects Burundi’s sovereignty, protecting Burundian civilians is a regional and international priority.
• May 6: Protests pick up again with 15 demonstrators injured. Audifax Ndabitoreye, an independent presidential candidate, is arrested.
• May 6: The number of Burundians that have fled due to election-related unrest to neighboring countries rises to almost 40,000.
• May 6: In a speech to the nation, Nkurunziza pledges not to run for a fourth term and that he will release all demonstrators under 18 immediately.
• May 6: East African Foreign Ministers arrive in Burundi to participate in talks and pursue a fact-finding mission.
• May 6: The government and political opposition meet to try and find a solution to the crisis.
• May 6: The Catholic Church of Burundi releases a statement calling for an end to protests and subtlety indicating Nkurunziza should not run for a third term.
• May 7: Protests continue in Burundi, with widespread reports that protesters lynched at a suspected member of the Imbonerakure and the army saved another.
• May 7: AU Chairperson Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma calls on Burundi to delay elections.
• May 8: Nkurunziza officially registers to run for a third term.
• May 8: The number of refugees reaches 50,000.
• May 8: Paul Kagame subtly comes out against a third term for Nkurunziza.
• May 8: The UNSC pleads for calm in Burundi, but didn’t address the third term issue. In a separate statement, Samantha Power threatens sanctionsagainst anyone involved in violence. Additionally, ICC Chief ProsecutorFatou Bensouda also says the ICC was monitoring the situation.
• May 8: The UNSC receives details of plans for assassinations of prominent CNDD-FDD opponents.
• May 9: Protesters observe a day-long truce.
• May 9: The Burundian government demands that protesters remove all barricades within 48 hours.
• May 9: Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta urges all parties to come together for dialogue.
• May 10: Protests resume with security forces attempting to remove barricades. At least one protester dies. A group of women protesting are able to reach the city center for the first time since the protests began.
• May 10: Minister of Defense Pontien Gaciyubwenge, who had previously stated the army intended to remain neutral, reads out a government statement ordering all civil servants to return to work Monday and for schools to open.
• May 11: Protests continue, with around 2,000 people marching in the Musaga neighborhood of Bujumbura.
• May 11: The US and EU call for Burundi’s elections to be delayed.
• May 11: Belgium and the EU pull their financial support for Burundi’s election while Belgium also withdraws funding for police training.
• May 12: Protests continue in Bujumbura, with at least three protester deaths. Protesters also seize a police officer and beat her before colleagues rescue her.
• May 12: Nkurunziza calls the Arusha Accords an “ordinary law”.
• May 12: Agathon Rwasa warns that civilians will take up arms if Nkurunziza is allowed to run for a third term.
• May 12: ICGLR Chairman Jose Eduardo dos Santos of Angola sends a letterto Nkurunziza expressing concern about instability in Burundi.
• May 12: EAC prepare to meet, with regional heads of state, including Nkurunziza, attending the summit in Tanzania.
• May 13: Protests get to within a kilometer of the Presidential Palace and police open fire on demonstrators.
• May 13: General Godefroid Niyombare, who was sacked as Intelligence Chief in February, declares on local radio he has dismissed Nkurunziza as President and is working to form a transitional government. Niyombare also announced the creation of a temporary ruling committee, but did not say who comprised the committee.
• May 13: Nkurunziza’s twitter account initially denies the coup attempt, and then denies it has been successful.
• May 13: EAC, who are meeting in Tanzania, denounce the coup attempt and call for a return to constitutional rule.
• May 13: Nkurunziza attempts to re-enter the country, but is turned away from Bujumbura’s airport and returns to Tanzania.
• May 13: The number of refugees reaches 70,000.
• May 13: A State Department spokesperson calls for calm but doesn’t call it a “coup”.
• May 13: A grenade attack damages Renaissance TV in Bujumbura.
• May 14: Fighting is centered around state radio station RTNB, with Nkurunziza loyalists holding it.
• May 14: Iwacu closes down, citing security concerns.
• May 14: Via Twitter, Nkurunziza declares he is back in Burundi, but Ugandan officials say a few minutes later he’s in Uganda. Tanzanian officials also sayhe’s not in Tanzania.
• May 14: General Prime Niyongabo, the Army Chief of Staff, declares the coup a failure.
• May 14: The United States says it recognizes Nkurunziza as the legitimate President of Burundi.
• May 14: UN relief agencies agree to create a regional plan to deal with the exodus of Burundian refugees.
• May 15: Niyombare admits the failure of the coup and says that while he’s still on the run, he intends to surrender. The government say they have arrested him and that he did not surrender willingly. Three other coup leaders are arrested.
• May 15: President Nkurunziza returns to Bujumbura.
• May 15: Focode, a civil society group, calls for more protests, even though some protesters have been told they will face lethal force.
• May 15: The AU condemns attempts to seize power through violence and calls for dialogue. The United States warns against retaliatory violence and asserts it will not provide military aid to human rights abusers. UNHCHRZeid Ra’ad Al Hussein also urged the Burundian authorities to refrain from violence.
• May 16: Protests continue, with about 100 people demonstrating in Bujumbura.
• May 16: 18 people accused of plotting the coup appear in court, with some of them having visible injuries, allegedly from beatings sustained in jail.
• May 16: Police attack and abduct at least three wounded soldiers suspected of being coup conspirators at Bumerec Hospital in Bujumbura. A fourth diesat the hospital.
• May 16: The number of refugees reaches 100,000.
• May 17: Pierre Nkurunziza makes his first public appearance in Bujumbura since the coup attempt. He warns that al Shabaab is planning an attack in Burundi, but al Shabaab deny it.
• May 17: At a public blessing, Pope Francis invites those present to pray for peace in Burundi.
• May 17: AU Chairperson Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma issues a statement saying she continues to follow the situation in Burundi closely and that a political dialogue is necessary to address the country’s problems.
• May 18: There is gunfire overnight, and one person, whose affiliation is unclear, dies.
• May 18: Protests continue in several parts of Bujumbura, though they are smaller than in previous weeks. The military, for the first time, plays a role in suppressing them, but not all units participate.
• May 18: Nkurunziza spokesman Willy Nyamitwe states the government fully respects press freedom and condemns threats against journalists. Most radio stations are unable to broadcast, however, because of damage incurred during the coup attempt. Bujumbura’s mayor Juma Saidi makes a statement indicating protesters will be considered to be coup conspirators.
• May 18: Nkurunziza named Emmanuel Ntahonvukiye as his new defense minister and Alain Aime Nyamitwe as foreign minister, replacing Pontien Gaciyubwenge and Laurent Kavakure, respectively. Nkurunziza announces he would also replace his trade minister.
• May 18: The ICGLR heads of state meet and agree to undertake a trip to Burundi, but do not select a date. They also urge Burundi to postpone elections indefinitely.
• May 19: Protests continue with Burundian police using non-lethal crowd control methods.
• May 19: In a statement on facebook, Nkurunziza promises not to pursue revenge against coup plotters but vows that they will face justice in accordance with Burundi’s law.
• May 19: Shots are fired at the offices of the European Representative in Burundi.
• May 19: The number of refugees reaches 111,703. Twelve Burundian refugees die in Tanzania of cholera.
• May 19: Iwacu re-opens.
• May 19: Nkurunziza announces via twitter that he will address the nation on RTNB, but does not do so.
• May 19: The United proposes a cut in funding to Burundian soldiers in AMISOM.
• May 20: Protests continue in Bujumbura. Journalists report that they are blocked from entering Musaga, from which gunfire can be heard, and harassed by policemen.
• May 20: The government announces a plan to postpone legislative electionsuntil early June, but plan to go ahead with presidential elections on June 26.
• May 20: A soldier is killed in unclear circumstances in Nyakabiga, though some reports allege he was shot by a policeman.