Attack did not target UN official, diplomats say

Diplomatic sources in Guinea-Bissau have denied reports that a member of the UN Mission in the country, Ademola Aroye, was the target of an assassination bid by an armed gunman.

However, one source said that Aroye, a Nigerian national, narrowly escaped death on Monday when bullets hit his car as he drove past the home of the minister of defence, near the presidential palace in the centre of Bissau. The incident was provoked by a civilian who attacked a soldier with a knife, causing the soldier to shoot "in all directions", the source said. The soldier, who shot the attacker dead, is in critical condition in hospital, the source said.

"Bissau remains tense because there are lots of small arms in the
Wrong hands," the source, who asked not to be identified, said.