WEST REGION NEWS More held after foiled coup in Guinea-Bissau BISSAU, December 05 -- Security forces in Guinea-Bissau made further arrests and carried out searches yesterday, a day after the government announced that it had foiled a coup against President Kumba Yala, security sources said. Several dozen suspects have been rounded up and detained at the Bissalanca military air base on the outskirts of the capital Bissau, the sources said in the absence of any official word. The military guard around the base, which is off limits to civilians, was reinforced. Those arrested include former deputy army chief of staff LtCol Almamy Allan Camara and "military and paramilitary" troops whom he had led in the coup plot, Interior Minister Alamara Nhasse said on Monday. Military sources said the officers in detention included naval commander Mohamed Lamine Sanha and Col Joao Monteiro, but no names were given by the government. Monteiro had been close to former President Joao Bernardo Vieira, who ruled for almost two decades until he was ousted in 1999 by former armed forces chief of staff Gen Ansumane Mane. Sanha had been a member of the junta formed by Mane prior to elections that brought Yala to power in January last year. Mane launched another coup in November last year to oust Yala, but was killed by government troops. Bissau was quiet, with no troop movements on the streets, but the army has been put on alert and soldiers have been recalled to barracks. The political opposition has expressed unease about the developments, which follow measures by Yala against top judges, while the president also recently lost a parliamentary vote of confidence. Helder Vaz, leader of the Guinea-Bissau Resistance-Batafa Movement said that he was "worried about the consequences of this business, which will again plunge the country into a long period of instability". But Baz and other political leaders said they considered it premature to jump to conclusions about the coup allegations, since they had learned of the news like everyone else, by radio. The announcement that a coup plot had been foiled on Sunday was first made on radio by the interior minister. - Sapa-AFP. ©2000 africast.com <<//\\>>//\\<<//\\>>//\\<<//\\>>//\\<<//\\>>//\\<<//\\>> 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] <<//\\>>//\\<<//\\>>//\\<<//\\>>//\\<<//\\>>//\\<<//\\>>