| UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA - AFRICAN STUDIES CENTER |
ABIDJAN, 7 June (IRIN) - Guinea Bissau's deposed president, Joao Bernardo Vieira, arrived in The Gambia on Sunday, a senior official in the Gambian Foreign Ministry told IRIN.
"He is not feeling well and we are trying to arrange treatment," the Gambian official said on Monday. The source did not know how long Vieira would stay in the Gambia but felt he would be there "for some time".
Portugal offered Vieira asylum soon after he was toppled by a military junta in early May, and he stayed in the Portuguese Embassy in Guinea Bissau up to his departure for Gambia.
The decision to allow him to leave the country was taken at a meeting attended by General Ansumane Mane, head of the Military Junta, President Malam Bacai Sanha, Prime Minister Francisco Fadul and other political leaders, according to news organisations. Vieira was allowed to leave Guinea Bissau to seek treatment abroad, they reported.
Meanwhile, Lieutenant Colonel Verisimo Siabra Correia was sworn in on Saturday as Guinea Bissau's new armed forces chief of staff, according to AFP.
[ENDS]
[IRIN-WA: Tel: +225 217366 Fax: +225 216335 e-mail: irin-wa@ocha.unon.org ]
Item: irin-english-975
[This item is delivered in the "irin-english" service of the UN's IRIN humanitarian information unit, but may not necessarily reflect the views of the United Nations. For further information or free subscriptions, or to change your keywords, contact e-mail: irin@ocha.unon.org or fax: +254 2 622129 or Web: http://www.reliefweb.int/IRIN . If you re-print, copy, archive or re-post this item, please retain this credit and disclaimer.]
Copyright (c) UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs 1999
Editor: Ali B. Ali-Dinar
| Previous Menu | Home Page | What's New | Search | Country Specific |