Search
  1. Home
  2. West Africa
  3. Guinea-Bissau
  • News

War volunteers to be reintegrated

    ABIDJAN

    The caretaker government announced on Wednesday that more than 10,000 "military and paramilitary" volunteers who took part in the country's recent armed forces' uprising, would be fully integrated into the military, Lusa reported on Thursday.

    A communique was released by Finance Minister Abubacar Dhaba who said that the soldiers' formal enlistment would significantly increase the number of people on the state payroll, Lusa reported. As a result, he said, the introduction of a planned 300 percent rise in the minimum wage had been postponed.

    The decision was announced hours after hundreds of youths in uniform blocked traffic in Bissau on Wednesday demanding overdue salaries. The protest ended after Dhaba promised to give priority to the payment of salaries for members of the armed forces and police. Most of the protestors enlisted after the June 1998 rebellion against former president Nino Vieira who was finally overthrown by a self-styled Military Junta some 11 months later.

    This article was produced by IRIN News while it was part of the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. Please send queries on copyright or liability to the UN. For more information: https://shop.un.org/rights-permissions

    Share this article

    Our ability to deliver compelling, field-based reporting on humanitarian crises rests on a few key principles: deep expertise, an unwavering commitment to amplifying affected voices, and a belief in the power of independent journalism to drive real change.

    We need your help to sustain and expand our work. Your donation will support our unique approach to journalism, helping fund everything from field-based investigations to the innovative storytelling that ensures marginalised voices are heard.

    Please consider joining our membership programme. Together, we can continue to make a meaningful impact on how the world responds to crises.

    Become a member of The New Humanitarian

    Support our journalism and become more involved in our community. Help us deliver informative, accessible, independent journalism that you can trust and provides accountability to the millions of people affected by crises worldwide.

    Join