G-Bissau asks not to be abandoned

Guinea Bissau swears in new leader

Guinea-Bissau's new leader Raimundo Pereira has appealed for international help to stabilise the country in the wake of the president's assassination.

The parliament's speaker, who was sworn in as interim leader on Tuesday, asked the world not to abandon his country.

He said that he would assume the functions of head of state until elections were held within 60 days.

President Joao Bernardo Vieira was shot on Monday by soldiers who blamed him for a bomb that killed the army chief.

Guinea-Bissau - a major transit point for Latin American cocaine headed for Europe - has been plagued by political unrest since it gained independence from Portugal in 1974.

The UN Security Council said in a statement the 15-member body "condemns in the strongest terms the assassinations".

Before taking the oath of office on Tuesday, national assembly leader Mr Pereira said Guinea-Bissau was "facing a very delicate situation".

He called on MPs "to assume their responsibility toward the nation".

Lawmakers in the capital Bissau also observed a moment of silence for President Vieira and for the army chief-of-staff Gen Tagme Na Waie.

'Fragile situation'

Obituary: President Vieira Haunted by history of crisis

Diplomats representing West African and Portuguese-speaking nations have also said they hope the constitution will be honoured.

Guinea-Bissau's army has denied it is launching a coup and has promised to honour the constitution.

Nigerian President Umaru Yar'Adua, who heads the 15-member regional bloc Ecowas, has sent a delegation to the country.

"The fragile political situation in Guinea-Bissau has been further weakened by these events," he said.

Soldiers killed President Vieira early on Monday in an apparent tit-for-tat attack after Gen Waie was blown up in his headquarters hours earlier.

The African Union's Peace and Security Council decided not to suspend Guinea-Bissau when it met in the Ethiopian capital Addis Ababa on Tuesday, as it said the attacks did not represent a coup.

The AU suspended neighbouring Guinea and Mauritania after coups last year.