RSF protested the closure of two private newspapers, the daily "Diario de Bissau" and the weekly "Gazeta de Noticias". "The independent press has been in the authorities' sights since Mr. Yala's election to the presidency of Guinea-Bissau in January 2000," stated Robert Mard, the organisation's secretary-general.

Leaders of opposition parties in Guinea-Bissau agreed on Tuesday to press for the holding of an extraordinary session of the National Assembly to discuss the situation in the West African country, a diplomatic source in the capital, Bissau, told IRIN.

There was no activity in Guinea-Bissau's courts on Tuesday as magistrates began a 30-day strike against the dismissal by President Kumba Yala of four members of the Supreme Court, including its president and vice president.

Reporters without Borders (RSF-reporters sans Frontieres) has expressed concern about threats which, it said, were made by Guinea-Bissau's Attorney General, Caetano Intchama, against journalists from a private radio station. In a letter sent on 11 September to Intchama, who was appointed last week, RSF asked him to apologise to the newsroom of Radio Pidjiquiti and publicly declare his commitment to press freedom.

There has been rising tension within Guinea-Bissau's army, the Senegalese news agency, APS, and other sources reported. The tension appears to centre on the future of Armed Forces Chief of Staff Verissimo Correia Seabra.