Heavy gunfire heard in south of Guinea-Bissau capital: AFP journalist
by AFP Staff Writers
Bissau (AFP) Dec 1, 2023

Heavy gunfire was heard Friday in Guinea Bissau's capital near barracks where members of the national guard were holed up in the south of the city, according to an AFP journalist and sources.

The national guard members on Thursday night freed Finance Minister Souleiman Seidi and Secretary of State for the Public Treasury Antonio Monteiro from police custody, then took refuge in Bissau's southern district, military and intelligence sources said.

Gunfire was then heard by an AFP reporter near the barracks in Santa Luzia district.

Special forces intervened after several unsuccessful attempts at mediation, with calm restored following an exchange of gunfire, the sources said.

President Umaro Sissoco Embalo, elected in December 2019, is currently in Dubai, where he is attending the United Nations's COP 28 climate conference.

Seidi and Monteiro had been taken into custody after being questioned for several hours about the withdrawal of $10 million from state funds, according to the sources, who spoke on condition of anonymity for security reasons.

Lawmakers questioned Seidi about the withdrawal during a National Assembly session on Monday.

He claimed that the withdrawal was legal and was intended to support the country's private sector.

Members of the national guard took Seidi and Monteiro to an unknown location on Thursday before seeking refuge in the barracks, the sources said.

The AFP journalist saw members of the Guinea-Bissau Stabilisation Support Force, deployed to the country by the Economic Community of West African States, patrolling the streets of Bissau on Friday morning.

Guinea-Bissau suffers from chronic political instability and has faced a series of coups and attempted coups since gaining independence from Portugal in 1974, most recently in February 2022.

Benin launches medals for troops as jihadists step up attacks
Cotonou (AFP) Nov 30, 2023 - The Beninese government has introduced two new military medals to reward soldiers as the army grapples with a mounting jihadist threat on the country's northern border.

The move reflects Benin's struggle with spillover from conflicts in the Sahel where militants linked to the Islamic State group and Al-Qaeda have stepped up attacks as they seek to move south.

In a statement on Wednesday, Benin's government said the National Defence Medal and the Combatant's Cross would "recognise personnel whose feats of arms deserve to be held up as an example or encouraged."

The Combatant's Cross is for soldiers killed or wounded fighting.

Political scientist and security specialist Odilon Koukoubou said the medals were designed to encourage and boost morale of Benin's security forces who have not experienced war since 1960 independence.

"The army has not been heavily called on at the front for national defence against an external enemy," he said.

"The situation is changing now with the emergence of the terrorist threat on the country's northern borders."

Authorities rarely comment on jihadist attacks in northern Benin, which borders Burkina Faso and Niger.

Beninese forces in April said they had faced around 20 incursions from across the frontier since 2021.

France's military withdrawal in the Sahel has heightened concerns about security along the borders of Benin and Gulf of Guinea neighbours Ghana, Togo and Ivory Coast.

Benin's government has recently taken measures to support its troops. Last week it passed a law to provide for the dependants of killed or missing soldiers.

Earlier this year it launched a recruitment drive for 5,000 additional troops to help reinforce the border.

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