Guinea-Bissau president, army chief, assassinated

Renegade soldiers Monday shot dead President Joao Bernardo Vieira. The news came just hours after the killing of the army chief of staff, who had fallen out with President Vieira. Life in Guinea-Bissau last evening was uncertain. Gunfire sounded in the capital Bissau, though the army insisted there was no coup in the making. Guinea-Bissau is one of the world’s poorest states. It has a history of coups and has become a major transit point for trafficking cocaine to Europe. “President Vieira was killed by the army as he tried to flee his house which was being attacked by a group of soldiers close to the chief of staff Tagme Na Waie, early this morning,” military spokesman Zamora Induta told AFP news agency. He accused Vieira of being responsible for the death of the army chief of staff. The African Union and the regional body ECOWAS condemned the president’s assassination. ‘No coup’ Chief of staff Gen Tagme died after a blast late on Sunday that destroyed part of the military headquarters. Following the attack on the military HQ, officers ordered two private radio stations in the city to cease broadcasting. In a statement on state radio following Vieira’s death, the military insisted no coup was in progress. The armed forces statement said the military would respect the constitutional order - in which the head of the parliament succeeds the President in the event of his death. The President and army chief are said to have been at odds for months. Renegade soldiers last November attacked the presidential palace with automatic weapons in a failed coup attempt. The AU condemned the killing of 69-year-old Vieira - nicknamed “Nino” - as did Mohamed Ibn Chambas from the regional economic bloc ECOWAS. “The death of a president, of a chief of staff, is very grave news,” Chambas told AFP. “It’s not only the assassination of a president or a chief of staff, it’s the assassination of democracy,” he said. Plagued by coups It is not yet clear who was behind the attack on Gen Tagme, but it once again highlights the country’s fragility, the BBC’s West Africa correspondent Will Ross says. After last November’s attack, the president was subsequently given his own 400-strong militia for protection. In January, that militia was accused of trying to kill the head of the army and was then disbanded. Guinea-Bissau has been plagued by coups and political unrest since it gained independence from Portugal in 1974. President Vieira, just like the country’s previous leaders, has relied on the army to stay in power, and personal rifts have made it a rocky relationship, our correspondent says. Guinea-Bissau - a major transit point for Latin American cocaine headed for Europe - has also been destabilised by the effects of drug trafficking. Some officials in the army are known to have become involved in the trade, our correspondent says. BBC UN Envoy to Guinea Bissau Joseph MutabobaRwanda’s Ambassador Joseph Mutaboba was appointed by the United Nations Secretary General as his Representative to Guinea-Bissau barely a month ago. An experienced diplomat, Mutaboba was President Kagame’s Special Envoy to the Great Lakes Region before his current appointment.He was appointed to help foster peace in a country which for many years has been hampered by a series of political upheavals. Ends

National

Guinea-Bissau president, army chief, assassinated