UN chief urges coup-hit Guinea-Bissau to resolve differences by peaceful means

UN Secretary-general Ban Ki-moon on Thursday urged Guinea-Bissau to resolve its differences peacefully after the west African nation witnessed a political unrest early in the day.

Ban Ki-moon is following the military incidents in the country with concern, said Joseph Mutaboba, the UN chief's special representative in Guinea-Bissau, in a statement.

Mutaboba said the secretary-general called on the military and political leadership of Guinea-Bissau to resolve differences by peaceful means and to maintain constitutional order.

Ban Ki-moon underlined the need to avoid any risks to the gains made by Guinea-Bissau in its ongoing peace consolidation efforts, Mutaboba said.

Guinea-Bissau's Prime Minister Carlos Gomes Junior was briefly detained on Thursday by military officers amid renewed fears of coup in Guinea-Bissau, which is not unfamiliar with unrest.

Instability including the 1998-1999 civil war has haunted the country of 1.5 million population since its independence from Portugal 35 years ago. Coup attempts have repeatedly hit the headlines in Guinea-Bissau, especially since 2008.

In the latest incident, which is already seen by many as another coup d'etat, Minister of Territorial Administration Luis Sanca was also taken hostage after the military officers broke into the office of the prime minister in the capital Bissau.

Reports reaching here said the situation in the capital in under control as the country's new army chief Antonio Indjai said that the country's army is submissive to political power.

Guinea-Bissau is among the poorest in the world, being ranked the 175th out of 177 nations in the U.N. Development Program's Human Development Index.

Source: Xinhua