Mozambican President Joaquim Chissano, who was recently elected as chairman of the AU said over state radio that Mozambique and the AU vehemently condemn this coup and demand that those who perpetrated it return Sao Tome and Principe to constitutional rule as soon as possible.

South African President Thabo Mbeki joined other African leaders in condemning the military coup, saying his country did not condone any unconstitutional transfer of power in Africa and urged the coup leaders to restore the duly elected government.

African leaders attending the Six Leon Sullivan Summit in Nigeria's capital Abuja on Wednesday also unanimously condemned the coup d'etat in Sao Tome.

Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo said "I express my heartfelt support for the president of Sao Tome and Principe, who is here with us today. We strongly condemn the action of the coupists and call on the military adventurers to hand over power to the elected president."

"I join my voice with that of Obasanjo in condemning the encroachment on a constitutional government of our sister nation of Sao Tome and Principe," said President John Kufuor of Ghana.

"All of Africa and its well-wishers must prevail on the encroachers to desist," Kufuor added.

President Abdoulaye Wade of Senegal, who is the immediate past Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) chairman, said the coup should not be accepted or tolerated.

"I condemn what has happened. I urge ECOWAS and President Obasanjo to see what can be done to remedy the situation and I hope that by the end of today or tomorrow, we will be able to bring President Fradique de Menezes back to his country," he said.

On his part, President Robert Mugabe of Zimbabwe, said anyone who sought to illegally overthrow an elected government in Africa must be condemned.

Meanwhile, the government of Angola, which has close ties with Sao Tome, also unequivocally condemned the coup in a public statement, appealing to the rebels to restore the constitutional and democratic order in that country.

"It was with great concern that the government of the Republic of Angola took notice of the occurrence of a military movement that interrupted the constitutional legality and democratic order in Sao Tome and Principe," according to the statement.

In the early hours of Wednesday, a group of soldiers led by Maj. Fernando Pereira "Cobo", chief of Sao Tome's military academy in Sao Tome, toppled the government and seized power, while the president is in Nigeria to attend the Sullivan summit in Abuja. Prime Minister Maria das Neves and the minister of defense were detained in the coup. The military have also captured the country's radio and television stations, which have both stopped transmission.

This is the second coup attempt in this former Portuguese colony since independence on July 12, 1975.

Sao Tome and Principe, which has a population of roughly 140,000, lies in the Gulf of Guinea, about 240 km off the coast of Gabon.

(Xinhua News Agency July 17, 2003)