BISSAU, Jan 6: Guinea-Bissau’s military said on Tuesday the armed forces chief had been fired on by militiamen hired to protect the president and ordered the militia to be disbanded.

But a presidential guard officer said the incident at midnight on Sunday was an accident and not an attempt to kill armed forces chief General Batista Tagme Na Wai.

The row over the shooting reflected tension between Na Wai, who has criticised some of President Joao Bernardo ‘Nino’ Vieira’s decisions and appointments, and Vieira, who survived an attack on his residence by renegade soldiers in November.

“At midnight on Jan 4 ... General Batista Tagme Na Wai was aimed at by a burst of gunfire fired by Aguentas militia mobilised and armed by Interior Minister Cipriano Cassama,” the armed forces command said in a statement broadcast by state media. No injuries were reported from the incident.—Reuters