Attack on E Guinea foiled

2009-02-17 19:25

Malabo - Gunfire rattled across Equatorial Guinea's capital for several hours early on Tuesday after a suspected attack by mercenaries, security and diplomatic sources said.

Military sources said gun battles erupted in Malabo after security forces exchanged fire with a group of armed men who landed on a beach near the capital of the West African state.

There was no official acknowledgement of an armed clash.

However, a police source speaking on condition of anonymity said security forces had repulsed suspected mercenaries, killing one and arresting another.

Military sources said several of the group had been wounded in the exchanges and one of the two boats they used had been destroyed.

Others had managed to escape into the city, they said.

Residents in the capital, located on an island off the west coast of Africa, said the gunfire began at 03:00 (02:00 GMT) and lasted around three hours.

By daylight, armed forces had been deployed in the capital and erected roadblocks.

Television programming continued

Vehicles were being searched and passengers' identity checked, witnesses said.

State radio and public television programming continued as normal, but banks and public offices, as well as shops, were closed.

"We don't know what's happened. There has been a big deployment of soldiers. There's been some kind of attempt at a sea landing. But the assailants were routed," a diplomat told AFP, adding that some foreign nationals had been advised to stay at home.

Armoured vehicles had blocked the entrance to the city's main hospital and only medical personnel were being allowed access.

Police and soldiers had also taken up positions around the Clinic Guadaloupe, one of the country's main private clinics, in the city centre.

Equatorial Guinea, Africa's third biggest oil exporter, has been ruled since 1979 by President Teodoro Obiang Nguema who toppled his uncle in a coup.

- SAPA