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Suspected Coup Leader Arrested in Guinea Bissau

Guinea Bissau soldiers escort Captain Pansau N'Tchama (C), accused of being the mastermind behind the October 21 attack on an elite army barracks, shortly after his arrest in Bolama, on October 27, 2012.

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VOA News

October 27, 2012

Officials with the transitional government in Guinea Bissau say the suspected leader of last week's attempted coup has been arrested.

Captain Pansao Ntchama and at least two other suspects were arrested Saturday on an island just off the coast of the West African nation.

Government troops repelled the pre-dawn attack on an air force base last Sunday. Seven people were killed.

Authorities accuse Portugal, the former colonial ruler of Guinea Bissau, of being behind the the attack. They say Portugal was seeking to restore former Prime Minister Carlos Gomes Junior to power. He was toppled in a coup in April between the first and second rounds of a presidential election.

Guinea Bissau was been wracked by coups and unrest since winning independence from Portugal in 1974.

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