Guinea-Bissau Civil War
Guinea-Bissau Civil War | |||||||
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An abandoned T-55 from the civil war in Bissau, 2003 | |||||||
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Belligerents | |||||||
Guinea-Bissau Senegal[1] Guinea[2] Supported by: France[3] Portugal[4] |
Military rebels MFDC[5] Supported by: United States[3][6] | ||||||
Commanders and leaders | |||||||
João Bernardo Vieira Abdou Diouf Lansana Conté | Ansumane Mané | ||||||
Strength | |||||||
Government: Unknown Senegal: 1,300 Guinea: 400 | Unknown | ||||||
Casualties and losses | |||||||
Unknown | Unknown | ||||||
Total: At least 655 killed in fighting,[7] 350,000 displaced. |
The Guinea-Bissau Civil War was fought from 7 June 1998 to 10 May 1999 and was triggered by an attempted
The conflict resulted in the deaths of hundreds if not thousands of people and the displacement of hundreds of thousands.[8][9]
An eventual peace agreement in November 1998 provided for a national unity government and new elections in the next year. However, a subsequent and brief outbreak of fighting in May 1999 ended with the deposing of Vieira on 10 May 1999 when Vieira signed an unconditional surrender.[8]
Pre-conflict tension
Guinea-Bissau gained independence from Portugal in 1974 after an eleven-and-a-half-year-long war of independence. In January 1998, ten fighters from the Movement of Democratic Forces of Casamance (MDFC), an insurgent separatist group from the Senegalese region of Casamance, were killed and another forty were arrested following clashes with the armed forces in two towns on the northern border of Guinea-Bissau.[10]
The armed forces deployed reinforcements along the border with Casamance to prevent the separatists from entering the country. In late January, following the seizure in Guinea-Bissau of a cache of weapons, a number of officers of the armed forces were arrested on charges of supplying arms to the Casamance separatists.
On 30 January 1998, Guinea-Bissau's defense minister announced the suspension of the
In March 1998, following protest by opposition parties at delays in the organization of legislative
Coup and civil war (1998–1999)
Vieira dismissed the suspended Mané and appointed General Humberto Gomes to replace him on 6 June 1998.[12] On 7 June, rebelling troops led by Ansumane Mané seized control of military barracks in Bissau as well as other strategic locations including the international airport. Mané subsequently demanded the resignation of Vieira and his administration and the conduct of free and democratic elections in July. With the support of 1,300 Senegalese and 400 Guinean soldiers, troops loyal to the government attempted unsuccessfully to regain control of rebel held areas of the city and heavy fighting ensued.
In the following days more than 3,000 foreign nationals were evacuated from the capital by ship to Senegal. An estimated further 200,000 residents of Bissau fled the city, prompting fears of a
On 26 July, following mediation by a delegation from the
In September 1998, talks between the government and the rebels resumed in
In October the rebels agreed to a government proposal for the creation of a demilitarized zone separating the opposing forces in the capital. Before the proposal could be formally endorsed, the cease-fire collapsed as fighting erupted in the capital and several other towns. On 20 October, the government imposed a nationwide curfew, and on the following day President Vieira declared a unilateral cease-fire.
By that time almost all of the government troops had defected to the side of rebel forces, which were believed to control approximately 99% of the country. On 23 October, Brigadier-General Mané agreed to observe a 48-hour truce to allow Vieira time to clarify his proposals for a negotiated peace settlement and agreement was subsequently reached for direct talks to be held in Banjul, The Gambia. At the talks, which took place on 29 October, the rebels confirmed that they would not seek Vieira's resignation.
Further talks held under the aegis of ECOWAS in
It was also agreed that a Government of National Unity would be established to include rebel representatives and that presidential and legislative elections would be held no later than March 1999. In early November 1998, an agreement was reached on the composition of a joint executive commission to implement the peace accord. Later that month the commission approved the structure of the new government, which was to comprise ten ministers and seven secretaries of state.
On 3 December,
1999
In January 1999, Fadul announced that presidential and legislative elections would not take place in March as envisaged in the Abuja accord, and would be delayed until the end of the year. Also in January agreement was reached between the government, rebels and ECOWAS on the strength of the ECOMOG interposition force, which was to comprise some 710 troops. Agreement was also reached on a timetable for the withdrawal of Senegalese and Guinean troops from Guinea-Bissau.
At the end of January 1999, hostilities resumed in the capital resulting in numerous fatalities and the displacement of some 250,000 residents. On 9 February, talks between the government and the rebels produced agreement on a cease-fire that provided for the immediate withdrawal of Senegalese and Guinean troops.
At a meeting held in
In April, a report was released by the National People's Assembly, which exonerated Mané on charges of trafficking arms to the Casamance rebels. Although the report, which had been due for release in June 1998 when hostilities began, called for the reinstatement of Mané as Chief of Staff of the armed forces, it revealed that President Vieira's presidential guard had been heavily implicated in arms trafficking. The United Nations Peacebuilding Support Office in Guinea-Bissau was subsequently established to monitor the general elections and the implementation of the Abuja Agreement.
Second coup (May 1999)
In early May 1999, Vieira announced that legislative and presidential elections would take place on 28 December, but he was overthrown by the rebel military junta on 7 May, to widespread condemnation by the international community. Fighting had erupted in Bissau on the previous day when rebel troops seized stockpiles of weapons that had been held at the international airport since the disarmament of the rival forces in March.
The rebels, who claimed that their actions had been prompted by Vieira's refusal to allow his presidential guard to be disarmed, surrounded the presidential palace and forced its surrender. Vieira subsequently took refuge at the Portuguese embassy, where on 10 May 1999 he signed an unconditional surrender.
Post-conflict events
The President of the
At a tripartite meeting conducted in late May by representatives of the government, the military junta and the political parties, agreement was reached that Vieira should stand trial for his involvement in arms trafficking to the Casamance separatists and for political and economic crimes relating to his terms in office. Vieira subsequently agreed to stand trial, but only after receiving medical treatment abroad, after which he pledged to return to Guinea-Bissau.
At a meeting of ECOWAS foreign ministers held in Togo in May 1999, Vieira's overthrow was condemned and demands were made for him to be permitted to leave Guinea-Bissau. It was also decided that ECOMOG forces would be withdrawn from the country. The last ECOMOG troops left in early June.
That month Vieira was permitted to leave Guinea-Bissau to seek medical treatment in France. Sanhá cited humanitarian reasons for allowing Vieira's departure, but stressed that he would return to stand trial. In the same month Sanhá asserted that presidential and legislative elections would take place by 28 November. In July,
On 28 November 1999,
References
- ^ "Conflict Transformation, Guinea-Bassau, The Military Crisis in Guinea-Bassau, Terhi Lehtinen" (PDF). Conflicttransform.net. Archived from the original (PDF) on 31 December 2016. Retrieved 12 October 2014.
- ^ Conflict Transformation, Guinea-Bassau, The Military Crisis in Guinea-Bassau, Terhi Lehtinen
- ^ a b Olarinmoye, Omobolaji (1 January 1970). "Civil War in Guinea-Bissau: June 1998- May 1999. | Omobolaji Olarinmoye". Global South Sephis E-Magazine, Vol.1, No.3. Retrieved 17 April 2017 – via Academia.edu.
- ^ Pike, John. "Corpo de Fuzileiros / Marine Corps". GlobalSecurity.org. Retrieved 28 November 2023.
- ^ Minahan (2002), p. 400.
- ^ "AfricanCrisis". AfricanCrisis. Archived from the original on 13 March 2012. Retrieved 18 August 2013.
- ^ Uppsala Conflict Data Program Conflict Encyclopedia, Guinea Bissau: government, Fatality estimate: low, http://www.ucdp.uu.se/gpdatabase/gpcountry.php?id=68®ionSelect=2-Southern_Africa# Archived 31 December 2013 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ a b c d Uppsala Conflict Data Program Conflict Encyclopedia, Guinea Bissau: government, in depth, Negotiations, Veira's surrender and the end of the conflict, viewed 12 July 2013, http://www.ucdp.uu.se/gpdatabase/gpcountry.php?id=68®ionSelect=2-Southern_Africa# Archived 31 December 2013 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ "Conflict Transformation, Guinea-Bassau, The Military Crisis in Guinea-Bassau, Terhi Lehtinen" (PDF). Conflicttransform.net. Archived from the original (PDF) on 31 December 2016. Retrieved 12 October 2014.
- ISBN 978-1-4522-6736-4.
- ISBN 978-0-8108-8027-6.
- ^ "GUINEA BISSAU: Fighting in capital continues", IRIN-West Africa Update 224, 8 June 1998.
Bibliography
- Minahan, James (2002). Encyclopedia of the Stateless Nations: Ethnic and National Groups Around the World. Greenwood Publishing Group.