October 17, 2004

  About a dozen senior officers in the armed forces went into hiding when the October 7 coup took place, and not all of them have come out of hiding. These officers were all allies of the late chief of staff, general Verissimo Seabra. Most of them are also descended from families that originally came from the Cape Verde islands. These families formed an impromptu tribe, and this was resented by the other tribes in Guinea-Bissau.