Heavily armed soldiers have been deployed in Burundi to quell protests against the president’s bid for a third term, which sparked a coup attempt last week that was foiled.

The head of Burundi’s army said an attempted coup had failed and forces loyal to President Pierre Nkurunziza were in control but heavy gunfire in the capital suggested the battle for power was far from over.

An official in Burundi says attackers from neighbouring Congo have killed 36 people at a pub in the central African nation.

A man killed himself and 16 other people with a grenade in northern Burundi when he was stopped from addressing scores of family members at a welcome home party for his sister, a police spokesman said today.

KENYAN President Mwai Kibaki has declared food shortages ravaging parts of the east African country a "national disaster" and for the first time used the word "famine" to describe the crisis.