A coup attempt failed on the night of Thursday November 24 to Friday November 25 in Sao Tome and Principe, a small island country in the Gulf of Guinea considered a model of parliamentary democracy in Africa, announced Prime Minister Patrice Trovoada.
Four men, including the former president of the outgoing National Assembly Delfim Neves and a former mercenary who had already been the author of an attempted putsch in 2009, who were arrested, tried to attack the headquarters of the army, said Patrice Trovoada in a video authenticated and sent to AFP in Libreville by the Minister of Justice Ilsa Maria dos Santos Amado Vaz.
Gunfire in army HQ
The head of government, who appears seated at a desk, with tired features, in a T-shirt under a raincoat, wanted to "
reassure
" the population and "
the international community
".
"
There was a coup attempt which started around 12:40 a.m. and... ended shortly after 6 a.m.
," he continued, adding: "
The armed forces suffered an attack in a barracks
".
Read alsoIn Africa, the future of French military bases under discussion
A resident contacted by telephone by AFP said on condition of anonymity that she had heard "
shots from automatic weapons and heavier weapons, as well as detonations, for two hours inside the HQ of the army
" in the capital Sao Tome.
