The assault last night on the headquarters of the Army of Sao Tome and Principe by armed groups has been confirmed as a failed coup after the country's Armed Forces neutralized the attempt.
This was confirmed this Saturday by the head of state of Senegal and current president of the African Union (AU), Macky Sall, who strongly condemned what happened through his official Twitter account: "The African Union categorically rejects any of power by force," he added.
The coup attempt took place after four armed men stormed the army headquarters in the country's capital, Sao Tome.
The assault sparked a shootout between the São Toméan armed forces and the attackers that did not cause any deaths but did leave an injured soldier whose life is not in danger, as confirmed by the country's Prime Minister, Patrice Trovoada, in statements collected by local media to who confirmed that "the situation in the barracks is under control".
After the arrest of the four armed men and based on their statements, Delfim Neves, former president of the country's National Assembly and former presidential candidate in the 2021 elections, and former military officer Arlécio Costa, who participated in the 2003 coup, were arrested. -overturned thanks to international mediation- and was subsequently sentenced in 2009.
Sao Tome and Principe held legislative, municipal and regional elections on September 25, in which the hitherto main opposition party, the Center-Right Independent Democratic Action (ADI), achieved a majority in the National Assembly, the only chamber of the Legislative
This country, which has about 223,000 inhabitants, is an exporter of products such as cocoa and coffee and also lives on agriculture, fishing and tourism, but depends to a large extent on international aid.
About a third of the population lives on less than two dollars a day, according to the World Bank.
