INSURGENTS launched co-ordinated assaults on several army barracks before dawn yesterday in Burundi’s capital Bujumbura, sparking a manhunt by soldiers.

Residents stayed inside, too afraid to go to work or school, as explosions and gunfire sounded across the city for hours.

Army spokesman Colonel Gaspard Baratuza said that 12 insurgents had been killed and 20 arrested in the attacks that began at about 4am.