This article is from the source 'bbc' and was first published or seen on . It will not be checked again for changes.
You can find the current article at its original source at http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/rss/-/1/hi/world/africa/7918061.stm
The article has changed 8 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.
Version 0 | Version 1 |
---|---|
Guinea-Bissau army chief 'killed' | |
(about 3 hours later) | |
The chief of staff of Guinea-Bissau's armed forces has been killed in an attack on the military's headquarters in the capital Bissau, reports say. | |
General Batista Tagme Na Wai reportedly died after a blast late on Sunday that destroyed part of the building. | |
At least five people were hurt in the attack, which one report described as a grenade strike and another as a bomb. | |
Guinea-Bissau, in western Africa, is one of the world's poorest states, and has a history of coups. | |
An aide to the general, Lt Col Bwam Nhamtchio, told the AFP news agency the chief of staff was in his office when the blast went off. | |
"He was gravely wounded and did not survive his injuries. This is a loss for all of us," Lt Col Nhamtchio said. | |
Following the attack on the military HQ, officers ordered two private radio stations in the city to cease broadcasting. | |
"For the security of the journalists, you must close the radio station and stop broadcasting. It's for your own safety," armed forces spokesman Samuel Fernandes told reporters at one station. | "For the security of the journalists, you must close the radio station and stop broadcasting. It's for your own safety," armed forces spokesman Samuel Fernandes told reporters at one station. |
"We are going to pursue the attackers and avenge ourselves," he added. | "We are going to pursue the attackers and avenge ourselves," he added. |
Plagued by coups | |
It is not yet clear who was behind the attack but it once again highlights the country's fragility, the BBC's West Africa correspondent Will Ross says. | |
In November, President Joao Bernardo Vieira survived a gun attack on his home by mutinous soldiers in what appeared to have been a failed coup. | In November, President Joao Bernardo Vieira survived a gun attack on his home by mutinous soldiers in what appeared to have been a failed coup. |
The president survived and was then given his own 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 after 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 South 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 adds. |