30 rebels held in G-Bissau
2006-04-12 12:40
Bissau - The head of Guinea-Bissau's army claimed on Tuesday to be holding at least 30 supporters of Salif Sadio, the head of the armed rebel movement with which the army had been fighting for nearly a month.
Abdulai Ba, head of the Guinea-Bissau armed forces, said 24 people believed to be militant or civilian supporters of Sadio were being held in the army's headquarters in Bissau.
He added that several other suspected militants were being held in Sao Domingos, near the Senegalese border in the north of the country, where the Guinea-Bissau army had established its base.
Military sources said six of the prisoners had given themselves up, saying they had run out of arms and food.
'We gave ourselves up'
One of the six said that he had deserted his position in Mandina, near Sadio's main base in Baraca Mandioca in Senegal.
The man said: "There were 17 of us in Mandioca. We gave ourselves up, the others are still in the forest.
"We don't have any more supplies at the bases. Many of our comrades want to leave, but they are scared of their chiefs&quo, adding that defectors had been threatened with death.
Since March 16, the military in the Sao Domingo area had been engaged in an offensive against Sadio's die-hard group of rebels, who were seeking independence for Casamance, a southern province of Senegal.
The faction had refused to take part in a peace process begun by the Senegalese government.