20091231

BISSAU (Reuters) - A former Guinea Bissau navy chief who fled the tiny West African state after being implicated in a failed 2008 coup has returned and is sheltering at the United Nations office there, officials said on Wednesday.

Rear Admiral Bubo Na Tchuto returned from exile in nearby Gambia this week disguised as a fisherman and on board a canoe, according to local media. His return prompted a tightening of security, including increased road checks, in a fragile state seen as a hub of the narcotics trade towards Europe.

"We wish to state that former Rear Admiral Bubo Na Tchuto arrived unannounced at UN premises in Bissau early Monday, 28 December 2009 and remains there at this time. He has asked for protection," a statement on the U.N. spokesman's website said.

"We have been in constant contact with the authorities in Guinea-Bissau in an effort to resolve this situation peacefully and in accordance with international law," the statement added.

Na Tchuto is wanted in connection with a failed coup attempt against former president Joao Bernardo Vieira in August 2008.

Veira was subsequently killed by renegade soldiers in March this year and has been replaced by an elected government that has made tentative steps towards stabilising the country.

A statement issued by the government urged its citizens and the international community to remain calm. It said it understood that Na Tchuto, which it alleges played a key role in the country's narcotics trade, wanted asylum in Gambia.