The former president of the National Assembly of Sao Tome and Principe, Delfim Neves, is one of those arrested for the attempted coup d’état on Friday, after four armed men burst into the army barracks in the capital of the archipelago, Sao Tome, firing shots.
«I want to say to the people of Sao Tome, to those residing 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 on the Armed Forces of the country», informed Trovoada, who after qualifying what happened as of «extreme gravity» has trusted that «Justice will do its job».
«Sao Tome and Principe does not deserve these problems. The people are sovereign, the people chose this team to lead the destiny of the country», said the head of government, who regretted that this is not the first time that they have suffered an attempt of this kind. «The last time was on August 3, 2018,» he recalled.
Throughout the day the information has been contradictory. While during his speech to the nation, Trovoada has reported that at least six people had been arrested, later the newspaper ‘Téla Nón’ has published that four of them have been killed, among whom is Arlécio Costa, former officer of a battalion of South African mercenaries known as ‘The Buffaloes’.
Costa and three others of the men who assaulted the Army headquarters have been transferred to the morgue of the Ayres de Menezes Central Hospital, according to the newspaper, which also published a photograph of the dead.
Trovoada detailed that the four assailants who broke into the Army headquarters are related to «the sadly famous» squadron of ‘The Buffaloes’, while another group of people whose number could not be determined waited outside waiting for the detainees to bring them more weapons.
«What we need is to arrest those elements who were outside the barracks and who had an exchange of fire with the Armed Forces,» Trovoada has stressed, who has emphasized that during the assault on the barracks there were no fatalities. «There were no deaths… Only one wounded,» he said.
This is the second time that this battalion seeks to carry out a coup d’état in the country, after the one in 2003. On that occasion, again commanded by Arlécio Costa, they did succeed, although a year later it was reversed without bloodshed thanks to international mediation. Costa and the other detainee, the former president of the Assembly Neves, have been partners in the latter’s 2021 presidential campaign.
