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World IN BRIEF : BURUNDI : Thousands Killed After Abortive Coup

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From Times Staff and Wire Reports

Tribal massacres sweeping Burundi have littered the countryside with corpses since a military coup a week ago, witnesses said. Figures quoted by military officials, Burundi citizens and reporters suggested that the death toll will run into the thousands. The reporters, who flew across the Central African country, saw villages on fire, dozens of corpses and rampaging groups of peasants armed with spears, machetes and knives. Renegade units from the Tutsi-dominated army killed President Melchior Ndadaye, an ethnic Hutu, in their bid to seize power. But the coup collapsed after senior officers regained control.

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