WEST REGION NEWS

Guinea Bissau 'coup' foiled

BISSAU, December 04 -- An attempted coup has been foiled and several senior
military officials arrested, say the Guinea Bissau Government.

The deputy head of the army, Almami Camara and the former navy chief of
staff, Lamine Mane, are in detention while other officers are on the run,
according to Internal Affairs Minister Alamara Nhasse.

However the capital remains calm and there have been no signs of shooting
or fighting, according to western diplomats.

Guinea Bissau is going through a constitutional crisis, after President
Kumba Yala sacked three senior judges.

They were subsequently arrested, along with several journalists. Mr Nhasse
said that the two military men arrested on Sunday evening had spent six
months preparing the coup.

Some of those on the run are alleged to have links to former President Nino
Vieira, who was overthrown in 1998. On Monday afternoon, security forces
were searching districts close to the airport for people allegedly
implicated in the plot, witnesses told the French news agency, AFP.

But the European Union delegate in Bissau, Antonio Amoreira Martins, told
the AP news agency that life in the capital was carrying on as usual. "It's
very calm. Life's completely normal here in the city," he said.

A year ago, the man who toppled Mr Vieira, Ansumane Mane, was shot dead
after staging another coup - this time against Mr Yala.

Mr Yala, a long-time opposition leader, was democratically elected
president in January 200. - bbc


©2000 africast.com LLC. All rights reserved.

<<//\\>>//\\<<//\\>>//\\<<//\\>>//\\<<//\\>>//\\<<//\\>>

To view archives of postings, go to the Gambia-L Web interface
at: http://maelstrom.stjohns.edu/archives/gambia-l.html
To contact the List Management, please send an e-mail to:
[log in to unmask]

<<//\\>>//\\<<//\\>>//\\<<//\\>>//\\<<//\\>>//\\<<//\\>>