EU imposes sanctions on Guinea-Bissau coup leaders

The European Union has imposed targeted sanctions on six coup leaders in the West African country of Guinea-Bissau.

They include a freeze on assets and a travel ban on the leaders who took power in a 12 April coup.

The move comes as the West African regional bloc Ecowas meets in Senegal to discuss what other actions to take against junta leaders in Guinea-Bissau and Mali.

Ecowas had already imposed sanctions on Guinea-Bissau earlier this week.

Mali coup: Junta forces 'overrun rivals' camp'

Pro-junta forces in Mali have taken control of the main anti-junta military base after two days of fighting in the capital, Bamako, witnesses say.

Junta forces are going through the camp looking for any remaining troops, a witness told the BBC.
The shooting broke out late on Monday after reports that the leaders of the presidential guard would be arrested.

ECOWAS Troop's Rejected by Mali Coup

The leader of last month's coup in Mali has rejected the West African decision to send troops to the country.

Captain Amadou Sanago said the military had not been consulted by the regional grouping Ecowas.
The coup leaders handed power to an interim civilian government earlier this month.
A meeting between Ecowas mediators and the interim government was disrupted by soldiers shouting "Down with Ecowas" and cocking their guns.
They only backed down when Capt Sanago left the meeting to tell them to disperse.
The military leaders are unhappy about Thursday's decision by Ecowas heads of government to send at least 3,000 soldiers to Mali.
Their planned deployment was designed to help secure the transition back to civilian rule, and help the government defeat rebels who now control the northern half of the country.
Officers led by Capt Sanogo seized power on 22 March, accusing the elected government of not doing enough to halt the rebellion in the northern desert region.
Powerful military They agreed to hand over power to a civilian government on the understanding it would hold fresh elections within 40 days.
But the military is unhappy after Ecowas said the interim government should have up to a year to organise fresh elections.

The country's interim president Dioncounda Traore was at the Ecowas meeting.

Capt Sanago told reporters after the meeting that it was up to the military to decide what institutions run the country after the end of the 40-day period.
He did not make clear whether elections would then be held.
The BBC's John James in neighbouring Ivory Coast says it seems the coup leaders still exercise considerable power and fear any Ecowas deployment would threaten their position.
The military leadership said it seized power last month because the previous government had not done enough to combat rebels.

Mali coup: ICC to consider allegations of atrocities

The International Criminal Court has warned it may investigate allegations of atrocities committed in Mali since violence erupted there in January.

Prosecutors are assessing reports of killings, rapes and of conscripting child soldiers allegedly carried out in the rebel-held north.

Tuareg separatists and their Islamist allies exploited the chaos created by a military coup in March to grab control of much of the desert region.

Civilian rule has since been restored.

Deteriorating human rights

The ICC said they would consider claims from several sources, including senior UN officials, before deciding whether or not to to open a war crimes investigation.

UN human rights chief Navi Pillay has said that she is "concerned that the longer the instability continued, the more the human rights situation appeared to be deteriorating, with thousands of people already fleeing the northern region to seek refuge in neighbouring countries."

Last week, medical charity Medecins Sans Frontieres said there had been a huge rise in people fleeing the northern region because of the presence of armed groups and Mali's political uncertainty.

There are two main groups behind the rebellion in Mali: The secular National Movement for the Liberation of Azawad (MNLA) and Ansar Dine, an Islamist group that has started to impose Sharia in some towns.

The MNLA is made up partly of Tuareg who had fought in Libya on the side of Col Muammar Gaddafi and returned to Mali after he was killed.

They complain they have been ignored by the authorities in the capital, Bamako.

Despite the junta handing back power to civilian rule on 12 April, political tensions also remain in the south of the country - and last week ousted President Amadou Toumani Toure fled to neighbouring Senegal after several of his political allies had been arrested by the army.

They were released - but correspondents say Mr Toure had clearly thought it prudent to get as far away as possible from Mali's soldiers, who have previously threatened to arrest him and who seem to still be a force behind the scenes.

Mali coup: Army arrests ex-President Amadou Toure allies

Soldiers have arrested several allies of Mali's ousted President Amadou Toumani Toure days after handing power to a civilian leader, witnesses say.

Former Prime Minister Modibo Sidibe was picked up by men in military police vehicles, an aide said.

Ex-Defence Minister Sadio Gassama and chief of staff, Gen Hamidou Sissoko, have also been arrested.

Bamako-based journalist Martin Vogl says the arrests suggest Mali's interim leader does not have total authority.

Dioncounda Traore - sworn in as interim president last week - has refused to comment on the arrests - while the European Union delegation in Mali has called for "an urgent clarification and their immediate release".

The head of one of Mali's biggest political parties, Soumaila Cisse, has also reportedly been detained.

Mr Cisse was a frontrunner in elections due this month but derailed by last month's coup led by Capt Amadou Sanogo.

A top ranking policeman, Mahamadou Diagouraga, was also detained, the AP news agency reports.

All those arrested have reportedly been taken to Kati, the junta headquarters just outside the capital, Bamako.

Mr Toure agreed to resign as part of the deal for the army to leave power - he was due to stand down in April after two terms as president.

Waiting for a premier

Mr Sidibe, who served as Mr Toure's prime minister from 2007 to 2011, was first arrested shortly after the coup and later released.

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Don’t copy Malian coupists, Fashola urges soldiers

Governor Babatunde Fashola of Lagos State has urged Nigerian military officers not to toe the line of their Malian counterparts by seizing power through the guns, saying, “strong military discipline is very important in the sustenance of the country’s democracy.”

Fashola  gave the advice during a courtesy visit by officers from National Defence University, Pakistan, to his office in Lagos.

He said: “There is need for us to rally round this system of governance (democracy) to ensure that those ideals that recognises the sovereign power of the people as the collegiate for consensus- building and decision- making on how our lives are ordered must receive attention of all the institutions including the military personnel.

“It is not just enough to say that the responsibility of protecting our democracy belong only to the legislative, political office holders, judiciary and the press, but also rest on the shoulders of the military personnel in the country.

“This is because they have to safeguard the territorial boundary that they represent in order for the government to take foothold in the administration of the country.  Whether it is in Europe, Middle-East, Asia or Africa, there is a threat to peaceful existence of the human civilisation as we know it.

The underlying thing is that nothing is more important than the human civilisation on this planet. Government and institutions whether military or civilian exist only for the purpose of working together to promote the best for human beings,” he added.

Confusion over Guinea-Bissau PM after 'coup'

There is confusion over the whereabouts of Guinea-Bissau's Prime Minister, Carlos Gomes Junior, after soldiers launched an apparent coup.

Earlier reports said Mr Gomes had been arrested by the army, but diplomats told the BBC they believe he is safe somewhere in the capital, Bissau.

Soldiers have been seen outside several embassies, apparently searching for Mr Gomes, who is running for president.

Meanwhile, the UN Security Council has strongly condemned Thursday's revolt.

A statement firmly denounced the "incursion by the military into politics" and called on the army rebels to ensure the safety of Mr Gomes, interim President Raimundo Pereira, and all senior officials currently detained.

In Bissau, a communique issued by the "military command" - as the rebel troops have named themselves - said its forces had detained the head of the armed forces, Antonio Indjai.

Earlier on Friday, a military press attache, Francelino Cunha, told the Associated Press that Prime Minister Gomes had been arrested inside his home - the scene of heavy gunfire and military activity on Thursday night.

The UN statement said the members of the Security Council "urge all parties to exercise maximum restraint, refrain from violence and remain calm."

"[They] note with profound regret that these events are occurring just prior to the launch of the campaign for the second round of the presidential election."

The suspected coup has also been denounced by the West African regional grouping, Ecowas, which said the military had once more demonstrated its "penchant to maintain Guinea-Bissau as a failed state".

Ecowas recently intervened in Mali, where there was a coup last month, ordering the coup leader to hand over power after imposing sanctions.

'Doing well'

Diplomatic sources quoted by the BBC's Thomas Fessy said Prime Minister Gomes was safe somewhere in Bissau.

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