Guinea-Bissau: President, General Assassinated
2 March 2009 by Marc in Africa | Permalink
GUINEA-BISSAU: President João Bernardo Vieira and Army Chief of Staff Tagme Na Waie were assassinated within hours of each other as part of an ongoing feud among the West African nation’s ruling elite. The military claimed responsibility for the President’s death, saying they acted in response to the President’s involvement in the assassination of General Tagme on Sunday. Tagme was killed when a bomb exploded in Army headquarters.
“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,” Zamora Induta, the military spokesman, said on Monday.
The streets of Bissau, the capitol, are calm now, perhaps unnaturally so. The Army has denied accusations of a military coup, saying “the rivalry is now over.” According to the Constitution, the head of the ruling party will take over as President for three months until special elections can be held. The only problem is that this recent conflict is the culmination of tensions stemming from a contested election held in November.
Guinea-Bissau has a history of instability. This is how allAfrica.com put it:
Last November, elements of the military launched an unsuccessful attack on the president’s residence soon after elections.
The International Crisis Group recently described the country’s institutions as “structurally feeble” and warned that there was a permanent threat of military intervention in politics.
allAfrica.com article: Guinea Bissau: President, Army Chief Assassinated
Al Jazeera English article: Guinea-Bissau president killed
Related Posts:
Magellan Feed
Discussion