The military in the tiny west African island nation of Sao Tome and Principe launched a coup early on Wednesday in the former Portuguese colony, taking advantage of the president’s absence on a foreign trip, the Lusa news agency reported here.
Citing its own correspondent in the archipelago, Lusa said that Prime Minister Maria das Neves, Parliament president Dionisio Dias and the minister of defence had all been detained in the coup.
The military have also captured the country’s radio and television stations, which have both stopped transmission.
Sao Tome President Fradique Bandeira de Menezes is currently in Nigeria on a private visit. – Sapa