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Guinea-Bissau restores calm after mutiny

(Xinhua)
Updated: 2008-11-23 21:50

DAKAR  -- In defiance of international appeal for respect for election results in Guinea-Bissau, fighting broke out in a pre-dawn raid on Sunday at the presidential residence between mutineers and government soldiers before calm restored in the capital of Bissau.

Guinea-Bissau's President Joao Bernardo "Nino" Vieira attends an Organisation of Islamic Conference (OIC) summit in the capital Dakar in this March 12, 2008 file photograph. Vieira survived an attack by renegade soldiers on his home early on November 23, 2008, nearly two days after parliamentary election results were announced, a senior UN official said. [Agencies]

The attack followed the unveiling of provisional results of last Sunday's legislative election by National Electoral Commission President Aladji Malam Mane.

The results showed that the traditionally dominant African Party for the Independence of Guinea-Bissau and Cape Verde (PAIGC) secured 67 of  the 100 parliament seats.

A group of gunmen fired at the residence of President Joao Bernardo Vieira after midnight. Witnesses in Bissau heard explosions of artillery and rockets. The latest report said Vieira survived the attack by renegade soldiers who fled the scene after hours of shootout with Vieira's guards. The presidential residence was partly damaged in the fighting.

At least one presidential bodyguard was killed and several others wounded in the exchange of fire, the press service of the president told Xinhua. The authorities arrested several suspects of mutiny.

Vieira made an emergency phone call to his Senegalese counterpart Abdoulaye Wade after the incident, apparently in a bid to seek supports from the north neighboring country. The movement of  troops was reported on the side of Senegal, before Vieira's presidential press service declared the situation was "under control."

Guinea-Bissau's Communication Minister Fernando Mendonca confirmed to Xinhua on a separate occasion that calm has returned to Bissau after fighting.

Although the November 16 election was widely hailed as a success without tensions or disruption, there were complaints about "signs of fraud."

Mohmed Koumba Yala, leader of  the Party of Social Renovation ( PRS), has rejected the results after complaining  that the vote at the party's northern stronghold Circle Five was delayed until Monday.

Yala, who won a presidential election in 2000 but was overthrown in a 2003 coup,  met with UN special envoy in Guinea- Bissau Shola Omoragie, one day after the election to file a protest against the PAIGC, which claimed to win more than 80 percent of votes before the official results were published.

A high turnout of more than 70 percent was reported for the election. Nearly 600,000 of the country's 1.5 million population were registered to chose lawmakers for the country's fourth National Assembly since its independence in 1974.

About 20 political parties contended in the race, where the most influential included the PAIGC, the newly-formed  Republican Party for Independence and Development and the PRS.

The UN Security Council on Thursday welcomed the legislative election in Guinea-Bissau, urging the political parties to respect the results.

Guinea-Bissau has been plagued by coups and revolts since its independence from Portugal. Instability triggered a civil war between 1998 and 1999, toppling Vieira who had ruled the country for 19 years.

Vieira, stilled seen as a hero by many in the struggle for the country's independence, returned to power after winning the presidential election of the country in 2005. But the situation has remained unstable with changes of government.

In August, UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon expressed deep concerns after a failed coup attempt and the dissolving of the parliament, calling on all national stakeholders to work cooperatively and peacefully  in the run-up to the election in November.

To ensure the success of the vote, the United Nations, the European Union and the Economic Community of West African States have contributed millions of US dollars. More than 150 international observers were deployed across the country to monitor the process.

On the tip of West Africa with jagged coastline, Guinea-Bissau is being used by traffickers as a major hub for the flow of cocaine from Latin America to Europe, narcotics experts say.

The international community hopes the election will lead the country out of the shadow of both instability and drug trafficking.

Guinea-Bissau is one of the poorest countries in the world, being ranked the 175th out of 177 nations in the UN Development Programme's Human Development Index. The country's life expectancy is averaged at less than 46 years.

Covering an area of 28,120 square km, the country lies on the west coast of northern Africa, bordered by Senegal to the north, Guinea to the east and south, and the Atlantic Ocean to the west. Its main exports include cashew nuts and fish.

Cashew nuts account for 90 percent of the country's exports, which are estimated by the International Monetary Fund at  nearly 94 million US dollars in 2008, up from 71 million dollars in 2007.