General sworn in as transitional president: army

Guinea-Bissau's military installed General Horta Nta Na Man as transitional president yesterday, an army statement said, a day after soldiers toppled President Umaro Sissoco Embalo in a swift power grab that followed a disputed election.

The self-styled "High Military Command for the Restoration of Order" announced in a televised statement on Wednesday that they had ousted Embalo, in the latest episode of unrest in the coup-prone country.

Radio France Internationale reported that Nta would be president for a transitional period lasting one year.

Wednesday's army takeover came one day before provisional results had been expected to be announced in the race between Embalo and Fernando Dias, a 47-year-old political newcomer who had emerged as Embalo's top challenger to run the West African state, which is a hub for cocaine trafficking.

Ahead of the coup announcement, witnesses said gunfire rang out in the capital Bissau for about an hour near the electoral commission headquarters and presidential palace.