afrol News, 2 March - A state of emergency is an order of the city, according to reports from Bissau, with only a movement of millitary, following the deaths of President Joao Bernardo Vieira and the army chief of staff Batista Tagme Na Wai.

Reports have further showed a much calmer situation in the city, though with tense atmosphere following the Sunday and Monday morning waring sounds.

The government in Bissau had issued a statement at noon today announcing the deaths, while the army had also promised to keep order and adhere to constitutionality amidst fears of a military coup.

The army committed to obey democratically elected institutions, further saying a commission of military chiefs had been set up to manage the crisis.

Both the African Union and the West African bloc ECOWAS has today condemned the killings, voicing concerns and fears on Guinea Bissau's fragile democracy.

The regional bloc said it was to dispatch a mission to the member state to assess the situation and in support of the state authority to avert any situation that could lead to lawlessness.

President Joao Bernardo Vieira, is believed to have been killed in retaliation, having been accused of being behind the ploy of the explosive that killed the army chief of staff on Sunday. The president was killed together with his driver when he allegedly tried to escape from the the presidential palace in the early hours, this morning.

Mr Vieira, 69, came to power in a military coup in 1980 before overthrown in the 1998-1999 civil war after ruling the country for 19 years. He returned to power in 2005 after winning the presidential election.

Guinea Bissau, an ex-Portuguese colony on the Atlantic coast of Africa, has experienced a decade of civil conflict, including military coups. President Vieira seized power in 1980, before being elected president in the country’s first democratic elections in 1994. He was ousted in a coup in 1999, he was re-elected again in 2005, after pledging to develop the economy.

Guinea Bissau remains one of Africa's poorest countries, with its economy based on export of cashew nuts.

The tiny state has also been wrecked by drug money that has flowed to corrupt officials as smugglers pay bribes to use the country's coastline and remote airstrips for cocaine trans-shipments.

By staff writer

© afrol News

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