At least 40 dead bodies were seen scattered in the streets of the Burundi capital, Bujumbura, on Saturday, witnesses said, a day after coordinated armed assaults on three military bases.

Witnesses and journalists in Nyakabiga, a hotspot neighbourhood for anti-government protests in recent months, reported seeing at least 20 corpses, some apparently shot at close range. Other witnesses reported further bodies seen lying in streets in other parts of the city.