The Prime Minister of the West African island nation of Sao Tome and Principe said an attempted coup was averted early Friday morning after an attack on army headquarters.
The Sao Tome and Principe government says it foiled a coup attempt as four men, including the former president of the outgoing national assembly, Delfin Neves, tried to attack army headquarters.
Sao Tome and Principe Prime Minister Patrice Trovoada announced the arrest of four men. One of them was a former military officer who attempted a coup in 2009.
The West African regional bloc, the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), condemned the coup attempt.
The head of the bloc, Guinea-Bissau President Omaro Sissoco Embalo, tweeted that Sao Tome and Principe is a model of parliamentary democracy in Africa.
The Independent Democratic Action (ADI) led by Trovoada won legislative elections in September.
The previous ruling party, the Movement for the Liberation of Sao Tome and Principe, lost the election by 11,000 votes.
Since the last attempted military coup in 2003, the West African country had enjoyed relative political stability.
