More than 100,000 people have fled the violence to neighbouring countries, according to the United Nations. Cholera has broken out in squalid refugee camps in Tanzania, killing at least 27 people.
Nkurunziza has urged the refugees to “come back home”, assuring them they face no security threat.
On Wednesday, his office announced that parliamentary polls set for May 26 had been postponed to June 5, but there has been no mention of rescheduling the June 26 presidential election.
Rights groups accuse Nkurunziza of launching a crackdown on opponents and independent media in the wake of the failed coup.
The presidency has dismissed the claims.
In the days immediately after the coup bid, soldiers rather than police were mainly deployed against protesters, being seen by many as more neutral. However, this week the police have returned to fend off the demonstrators.
Some activists accuse the police of backing the ruling party’s Imbonerakure youth group, a powerful force described by the UN as a militia and accused of a string of abuses and killings.
Burundi’s government appears increasingly isolated diplomatically. Belgium, the former colonial power, threatened Thursday to end assistance to the country if Nkurunziza presses ahead with a third term.
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