The former president of the National Assembly of São Tome and Principe Delfim Neves is one of the six arrested for the coup attempt this Friday, after four armed men burst into the Army headquarters located in the capital of the archipelago, firing shots.
“I want to say to the Santotomenses, to those who reside in the country and to the foreign community, that the situation is under control, it is calm,” announced the Prime Minister, Patrice Trovoada, a few hours after the attempted coup.
“We have been the target of an attempted coup (…) It is not a robbery, it is an attack with weapons of war against the Armed Forces of the country,” reported Trovoada, who after describing what happened as ” extreme gravity” has trusted that “Justice will do its job”, reports the newspaper ‘Tela Non’.
“Sao Tome and Principe does not deserve these problems. The people are sovereign, the people chose this team to lead the country’s destinies,” said the head of government, who regretted that this is not the first time they have suffered such an attempt features. “The last time was August 3, 2018,” he recalled.
During his address to the nation, Trovoada reported that several people have been arrested in connection with this attempted coup, including former Assembly Speaker Delfim Neves and Arlecio Costa, a former officer of a South African mercenary battalion known as ‘The Buffaloes’.
Trovoada has detailed that the four assailants who broke into the Army headquarters are related to “the sadly famous” squad of ‘Los Bufalos’, while another group of people whose number they have not been able to determine waited outside waiting for the detainees. They brought more weapons.
“What we need is to stop those elements that were outside the barracks and that had an exchange of shots with the Armed Forces,” stressed Trovoada, who stressed that no fatalities were left during the assault on the barracks. “There were no deaths… Only one wounded,” he recounted.
It is the second time that this battalion seeks to carry out a coup in the country, after the one in 2003. On that occasion, again commanded by Arlecio Costa, they succeeded, although a year later it was reversed without bloodshed thanks to mediation international. Costa and the other detainee, the former president of the Neves Assembly, have been partners in the latter’s 2021 presidential campaign.
Rival Times
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