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Mystery over E Guinea shoot-out Mystery over E Guinea gun battle
(about 4 hours later)
An unidentified armed group has reportedly attempted to attack the presidential palace in Malabo, the capital of Equatorial Guinea. An unidentified armed group has launched an attack on the presidential palace in Malabo, the capital of Equatorial Guinea.
Government spokesman Jeronimo Osa told Spanish news agency Efe by telephone that the attackers had been fought off. The West African country's ambassador to London accused Nigerian militants and said they had been repulsed.
Malabo has ruled out a coup and blamed the attack on criminals, ex-colonial power Spain's foreign ministry said. But the Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (Mend) denied this, telling the BBC: "They are paranoid."
President Teodoro Obiang Nguema was not in his official residence in the capital at the time, say reports.President Teodoro Obiang Nguema was not in his official residence in the capital at the time, say reports.
The country, sub-Saharan Africa's third biggest oil producer, has suffered decades of instability.The country, sub-Saharan Africa's third biggest oil producer, has suffered decades of instability.
Attackers 'thwarted' 'Not ghosts'
In 2004, dozens of foreign mercenaries, led by former British commando Simon Mann, tried to overthrow the president but were caught. The shoot-out is said to have lasted for several hours from the early hours of Tuesday.
The whereabouts of the attackers following the shootout, which is said to have lasted for several hours from around 0400 local time (0300 GMT) on Tuesday, are unclear.
They reportedly arrived on the island in boats fitted with powerful outboard engines, of the type used by militants in the Niger Delta.
But Nigerian rebel group Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (Mend) denied to the BBC reports from Equatorial Guinea attempting to link them to the attack.
Reuters news agency quoted a resident as saying: "I'm told that two or three boats landed and shooting began and the military responded with land forces, naval forces and air force… and that the situation is now under control."
By daylight, armed security forces had deployed in Malabo and erected roadblocks to search vehicles and check passengers' identities, witnesses told AFP news agency.By daylight, armed security forces had deployed in Malabo and erected roadblocks to search vehicles and check passengers' identities, witnesses told AFP news agency.
Equatorial Guinean minister and government spokesman, Mr Osa, told Efe the presidential guard had thwarted the attack and calm had been restored. Equatorial Guinean ambassador to London Augustin Nze Nfumu told the BBC's Focus on Africa programme: "I will categorically say there hasn't been any coup attempt in Equatorial Guinea at all."
"It seems more like a criminal act than something political. The government of Equatorial Guinea has ruled out a coup d'etat. At the moment, the situation is calm," a Spanish foreign ministry spokeswoman told Reuters. He accused Mend and said the attackers had died when the security forces destroyed their boat.
Madrid's Radio Exterior de Espana Servicio Mundial reported another account which said forces loyal to Mann had tried to rescue him from a hospital he has been in for a few days. Pouring scorn on Mend's denials, he added: "I don't think they [the attackers] are ghosts."
Mann was sentenced to 34 years in jail last summer for his role in a coup plot in Equatorial Guinea. The ambassador said Mend had been behind two bank robberies in Equatorial Guinea's mainland city of Bata in December 2007.
Mend, which says it is fighting for a fairer distribution of wealth from Nigeria's oil, has normally confined its operations to southern Nigeria and its offshore oil installations.
But the militant group has been linked to more ambitious attacks in recent months on vessels off the coast of Cameroon.
"It seems more like a criminal act than something political. At the moment, the situation is calm," a Spanish foreign ministry spokeswoman told Reuters news agency.
Madrid's Radio Exterior de Espana Servicio Mundial reported another account which said forces loyal to British mercenary Simon Mann had tried to rescue him from a hospital he has been in for a few days.
Mann was sentenced to 34 years in jail last summer for his role in a 2004 coup plot in Equatorial Guinea.
President Nguema has ruled since 1979 after toppling his uncle in a coup.President Nguema has ruled since 1979 after toppling his uncle in a coup.