Guinea-Bissau mutineers win amnesty

Major Baute Ianta Namam signed a memorandum of understanding yesterday on behalf of the 500 troops who rebelled last week, killing armed forces chief of staff General Verissimo Seabra and army spokesman Lieutenant Colonel Domingos Barros.

It was not clear whether Maj Namam led the rebellion.

Maj Namam said that the mutineers had staged the revolt over outstanding pay, poor living conditions and corruption in the military. They never intended to seize power, he said.

"Our revolt was undertaken because of our military chiefs, who have been cheating us," he said.

"We tried to talk to them but it was impossible. They never listened. They never answered our complaints," he said.

In the memorandum, the government and armed forces said that they would work towards ending corruption and improving living conditions in barracks.

The document said that the rebellious troops were being granted amnesty for the killings.

Troops who took part in previous coups in the troubled country were also covered by the amnesty.

Efforts were being made to ensure the payment of outstanding wages, it said.

Guinea-Bissau, a nation of 1.3 million people that is one of the world's poorest countries, has repeatedly been unsettled by military revolts in the past decade.