East African leaders condemn coup bid in Burundi at summit

DAR ES SALAAM (Reuters) - East African leaders condemned an attempted coup in Burundi on Wednesday by a general who declared that he had deposed President Pierre Nkurunziza for seeking to run for a third term in office. The summit's host, Tanzanian President Jakaya Kikwete, made the statement after a meeting of leaders from the five-nation East African Community, which also groups Kenya, Rwanda, Uganda and Burundi. A Tanzanian Foreign Ministry official said Nkurunziza had not attended the discussions and had left Tanzania for Burundi. Major General Godefroid Niyombare, who had declared he had deposed Nkurunziza, said in Burundi that the airport in the capital Bujumbura and other border crossings were closed. (Reporting by Fumbuka Ng'wanakilala; Writing by Edmund Blair; Editing by Kevin Liffey)