Guinea’s military police told Lusa that at least two soldiers were killed in fighting in Bissau early this Friday between National Guard agents and elements of the Presidential Palace Battalion.
According to the same source, the dead were a National Guard agent and a soldier of the presidential battalion.
“At the moment we are still investigating, but at least we can confirm these two deaths,” said a source in the military police, the army body that maintains order among the military in the event of armed clashes.
The same source also said that at the moment there are two injured people who are receiving medical attention.
The Deputy Chief of Staff of the Armed Forces, General Mamadou “Nkrumah” Toure, issued a statement informing the population and the international community that “the situation has returned to a calm state” and that everything happened due to the actions of the commander of the Armed Forces. The National Guard, Vitor Chongo, orders the release of two government members detained by the Judicial Police (JP).
“For these reasons, republican forces rose up and restored constitutional order,” the statement said.
According to reports reaching Lusa, shots echoed throughout the city of Bissau and were heard in the vicinity of barracks in the Luanda area and other National Guard installations.
In areas closest to the shooting site, such as Santa Luzia, Luanda, Empancha, there was no movement of vehicles or people in the early morning and some businesses were closed, but in other areas of the city the population maintained a normal daily routine, even despite the sounds of gunfire.
Economy and Finance Minister Suleiman Seydi and Finance Minister António Monteiro were placed under preventive detention on Thursday after an interview at the State Ministry.
Government officials are being investigated for paying six billion CFA francs (about $10 million) to 11 businessmen through a loan to a commercial bank in Bissau.
A few hours after the court decision, the National Guard removed them from the SP cells, and this morning, after clashes, they were again placed in the dungeons of the judicial police.
Since last week, several directors of the Ministry of Economy and Finance have already been questioned as part of a process that has led to the arrest of two of the department’s top officials.
Author: Lusa
Source: CM Jornal
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