DAKAR, April 3 (Xinhua) -- Guinea-Bissau Prime Minister Carlos Gomes Junior said Friday he will not resign after a coup attempt in his country, and that the situation is now stable.

Gomes Junior said he will not resign because he was democratically elected, and he considered what happened on Thursday as an "incident."

He said after meeting with President Malam Bacai Sanha that the situation in the West African country had stabilized after apparent coup attempts.

Arrested by renegade soldiers on Thursday morning and reportedly freed hours later, Gomes Junior was escorted to the presidency for the meeting with Sanha, while still appearing to be under watch.

"The situation is now stable," he said, adding that institutions will return to their normal functions. Repeated coup attempts have rocked the African country since late 2008.

Minister of Territorial Administration Luis Sanca, Chief of defense staff General Jose Zamora Induta, and 40 other officers were also detained after a group of soldiers broke into the office of the prime minister in the capital Bissau.

The soldiers said they had ousted Induta, replacing him with his deputy, General Antonio Indjai.
Local media reports said the mutiny was linked to a simultaneous incident on Thursday in which soldiers entered a UN compound in the capital and emerged with the chief suspect in a failed 2008 coup bid who had sought refuge there.

The suspect, former navy chief Bubo Na Tchuto, is an ally of Indjai and was due to be handed over to Gomes's government. Na Tchuto was standing at Indjai's side at a news conference on Thursday.

Thursday's incident has drawn worldwide condemnation. The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) has issued a statement condemning in strong terms the coup attempt.

The statement said the coup attempt came at a time when the successful presidential election in July 2009 had created the required environment for ECOWAS and the international community to strengthen the democratic and national reconciliation process.

"ECOWAS is therefore, watching the developments in the country very closely and will leave no stone unturned in its efforts to defend the democratic gains and maintain stability in the country," the statement said.

The regional bloc urged the African Union and the United Nations to use the latest act by the military as an opportunity to scale up joint efforts to stabilize the political, security and economic situation in the country.
The UN Security Council also voiced concern over the military incidents, and urged all parties to respect the rule of law in the West African country.

Japan's U.N. Ambassador Yukio Takasu, whose country holds the rotating Council presidency for April, said in a statement Thursday night that "the members of the Security Council urge all parties to avoid acts of violence, uphold constitutional order and respect the rule of law in Guinea Bissau."

"The members of the Security Council express their concern and also support the statement of the Secretary General over the recent military incidents in Guinea Bissau," the statement said.

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon earlier Thursday called on the military and political leadership in Guinea-Bissau to resolve their differences by peaceful means and "to avoid any risks to the gains" made by the country in its current peace consolidation efforts.