24 November 2008
Addis Ababa — The African Union on Sunday expressed concern over the post electoral climate in Guinea Bissau and "condemns in advance" any attempts to seize power by force, following reports the president's residence has come under fire from the military.
In a statement issued in here in Addis Ababa, Jean Ping, chairman of the AU Commission said he was carefully following events there and expressed regrets over the deterioration of the political situation in Bissau.
The chairman said he was in contact with Guinea Bissau President Joao Bernardo Vieira to assess the situation and "examine the appropriate actions that should be taken." Soldiers fired on Vieira's residence yesterday, according to reports, citing El Hadji Amadou Sall, a spokesman for Senegalese President Abdoulaye Wade, who was called by Vieira about the incident.
Vieira's African Party for the Independence of Guinea and Cape Verde won parliamentary elections held in the West African nation on Nov. 16, provisional official results show, the reports said.
The poll took place under "conditions that were deemed satisfactory by all international observers, including those of the AU," the African Union said. The AU said it rejects "any unconstitutional change of government." Guinea Bissau, a former Portuguese colony on the Atlantic coast of Africa, has been wracked by civil conflict, including military coups, since independence in 1974.
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