Bissau nabs 25 soldiers over coup plot

Guinea-Bissau has captured twenty-five renegade soldiers who were allegedly involved in a coup plot against the government, a report says. The country's military announced on Thursday that a large cache of arms had also been seized at the homes of two soldiers arrested for participating in Monday's attack on army headquarters. Army chief General Antonio Indjai disclosed on Monday that a coup attempt had been foiled. Indjai said he was "staggered" by the quantity of arms unearthed. According to a report, the army captured 30 Kalashnikovs, three rocket-launchers, a machine-gun, six crates of shells, three crates of flamethrowers, eight bulletproof jackets and ammunition in search operations. The army said it had nabbed navy chief Rear Admiral Jose Americo Bubo Na Tchuto as the "mastermind" of the plot. However, many call it a wrangle between Indjai and Bubo Na Tchuto who was among 25 detainees paraded before journalists on Thursday. Bubo Na Tchuto, who is being kept in Mansoa, 60 kilometers north of the capital Bissau, told visiting journalists and human rights activists that he was "in good spirits". In 1973, the West African country declared its independence from the Portuguese Empire, and in 1974 the country added Bissau to its name to prevent confusion with the Republic of Guinea.