President Joao Bernardo Vieira

Guinea-Bissau President Malam Bacai Sanha named former naval commander Jose Zamora Induta as the new head of the west African country's armed forces on Tuesday. "You have the onerous task of turning our military into a republican entity that is modern, disciplined, obedient and submissive to political power," Sanha told Induta during his swearing-in ceremony. Sanha urged the new army chief to "put an end to division and exclusion" throughout the military and "create a climate of peace and... Read Full Story

The crew of a Spanish fishing trawler detained two weeks ago in Guinea-Bissau for allegedly fishing too close to the west African nation are "losing patience" with their situation, its captain says. "We are losing patience. Of course we are not well," the master of the Sierra de Huelva, Manuel Ribero Escudero, told the newspaper El Mundo in an interview published on Saturday. "We have been fishing in this area for years and we have always had good relations with the authorities," he said... Read Full Story

The small west African country of Guinea-Bissau plans to crack down on foreign fishing boats that use its waters illegally because they are so rich in fish, the fisheries minister said on Friday. "We're going to step up our checks by using our national navy," Carlos Mussa Balde said in a telephone interview after the seizure in recent weeks of two vessels from South Korea as well as many from neighbouring Senegal. "Every vessel seized in our waters for illicit activity will have its haul... Read Full Story

Guinea-Bissau has put its troops on alert in the north of the country along the frontier with Senegal following a border dispute with Dakar, a military source told AFP Wednesday. "The reason for this renewed tension is the allocation by the Senegalese authorities of plots of land along the coast between the Senegalese town in Cabrouse (in the southern Casamance region) and Tcheda, a village in Guinea-Bissau," a Bissau army officer told AFP. Bissau claims the land, which could potentially be... Read Full Story

Six Senegalese soldiers have been killed in an attack apparently carried out by former rebels from the separatist Casamance Movement of Democratic Forces, military officials said Saturday. "Yesterday (Friday) ... a Senegalese army patrol returning to its base was attacked by armed elements supposedly belonging to the MFDC. There were six dead, four wounded and two missing," the source told AFP. The attack, one of the most deadly in recent years, took place near the village of Sare Boya... Read Full Story

Guinea-Bissau's President Malam Bacai Sanha used the 36th anniversary of his nation's independence on Thursday to pledge an end to its use as a transit point for global drug trafficking. "I can today assure you that Guinea-Bissau will no long be a hub for drug trafficking," he said, although he held back from detailing which specific measures his administration plans to take. He also promised "optimum conditions" for security forces to tackle "terrorism, drug trafficking, organised crime and... Read Full Story

Malam Bacai Sanha was sworn in Tuesday as the new president of Guinea-Bissau six months after his predecessor was killed by soldiers. Sanha, who was elected on July 29, took the oath of office during a ceremony attended by five African heads of state in a packed stadium with more than 15,000 people. Long-time leader Joao Bernardo Vieira was murdered by troops in March in apparent revenge for the death of army chief General Batista Tagme Na Waie, who was killed in a bomb attack just hours... Read Full Story

Guinea-Bissau ruling party candidate Malam Bacai Sanha has won a presidential election run-off held after the assassination of the country's veteran leader, vote organisers said Wednesday. "The candidate Malam Bacai Sanha having obtained 224,259 votes, corresponding to 63.52 percent of votes cast, is the winner of the second round of the presidential election," the head of the National Elections Commission, Desejado Lima Da Costa, said during a brief ceremony. His rival Kumba Yala took 36.48... Read Full Story

Voters went to the polls Sunday in Guinea-Bissau for a presidential runoff between two former heads of state of the coup-prone West African nation, whose veteran leader was assassinated in May. Observers hope the new president will bring a degree of stability to the former Portuguese colony of 1.3 million people, which has suffered repeated coups since independence in 1974 and now is a haven for drug runners. Some 2,700 polling stations nationwide began opening at 7 am (0700 GMT) and around... Read Full Story

Malam Bacai Sanha is widely tipped to beat Kumba Yala after the latter's record in power between 2000 and 2003 left bitter memories in the former Portuguese colony, which has endured years of coups and political violence. Already desperately poor and struggling to secure aid money or lure potential investors, Guinea-Bissau suffered tit-for-tat assassinations of its army chief and his arch-enemy President Joao Bernardo Vieira in March. Sanha won the most votes in a presidential election on... Read Full Story