National unity government to be sworn in as planned, Mane

Rebel leader General Ansumane Mane has said all the conditions are in place for swearing in a government of national unity, AFP reported. Speaking in the Togolese capital Lome yesterday, where he met his rival President Joao Bernardo Vieira, Mane said: “I think on our return [to Bissau], we will go ahead with the swearing in of this government on 20 February.” The two men were due to return to Bissau today after also meeting Togolese President Gnassingbe Eyadema, the current chairman of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS). The Togolese commander of ECOMOG forces in Guinea Bissau, Colonel Gnakoude Berena, said loyalist and rebel soldiers would have to remove mines laid around the capital Bissau before returning to barracks. He told AFP about 3,000 mines had been placed by both sides in the course of the eight-month rebellion.