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PNG ex-commander seizes control of military
A former military commander in Papua New Guinea Thursday claimed to have seized control of the country's armed forces and demanded that ousted prime minister Michael Somare be reinstated, AFP reported.
Papa New Giunea former military commander Yaura Sasa has claimed to have taken over the military in an attempt to reinstate prime minister Michael Somare
The dramatic move appeared to be connected with a power struggle between Somare and sitting premier Peter O'Neill over leadership of the resource-rich but impoverished country, which has been struggling to throw off its reputation as a politically dysfunctional and often lawless nation.
Ex-colonel Yaura Sasa held a news conference at military headquarters in the capital Port Moresby to declare himself leader of the PNG Defence Force following media reports of a "mutiny" at the city's Taurama barracks.
Sasa demanded O'Neill recall parliament and set a seven-day deadline for MPs to reinstate Somare as leader.
Somare's camp confirmed Sasa was acting in their interests.
O'Neill's deputy Belden Namah said 15 of the 30 officers involved in the incident had been arrested and urged Sasa to give himself up, warning that he faced the death penalty for treason.
Somare, 75, was removed from office while out of the country recovering from illness last year only to later be declared the rightful leader by the Pacific nation's Supreme Court, throwing PNG into political turmoil.
O'Neill eventually resumed the prime ministership after Governor General Michael Ogio rowed back on his reappointment of Somare following the Supreme Court ruling.
At the height of the crisis PNG had two prime ministers, two governors-general, two cabinets and two police chiefs, though O'Neill commands majority support among MPs and the public service.
