JOHANNESBURG, South Africa — Military leaders in Guinea-Bissau pledged to restore order and democracy in the tiny West African nation Monday after the assassination of President Joao Bernardo Vieira by soldiers just hours after the army chief was killed in a bomb attack.
Vieira and the head of the joint chiefs of staff, Batiste Tagme na Waie, were fierce rivals, prompting speculation that the president’s killing was carried out in revenge for Waie’s death.
Military spokesman Zamora Induta said that Vieira’s killing was not a military coup and that the army was searching for an isolated group of soldiers believed responsible. He said Vieira was killed as he tried to flee his house. Waie was slain at military headquarters Sunday.
In the 35 years since gaining independence from Portugal, the West African nation has been destabilized by political rivalries, a civil war and repeated coups. Latin American drug traffickers using the country to route cocaine to Europe have added to the crisis, with politicians and the military accusing one another of involvement in smuggling. The U.N. Office on Drugs and Crime warned last year that the country was on the verge of becoming a narco-state.
