Balanta people:

The Balanta (meaning literally "those who resist", are an ethnic group found in Guinea-Bissau,Senegal, and Gambia. They are the largest ethnic group of Guinea-Bissau, representing more than one-quarter of the population. But despite their numbers, they have remained outside the colonial and postcolonial state because of their social organization.

 West Africa has a coup problem. Today, in the latest development in Guinea-Bissau's coup, the military said it wouldn't release the country's interim presidentuntil "conditions allow." Reuters also reports that the African Union has suspended the country's membership. Last month, another coup rocked neighboring Mali and the junta continues to cling to power.

"Although Mali and Guinea-Bissau are very close to each other geographically and they had coups within weeks of each other, their two upheavals are very different," writes Global Post's Andrew Meldrum. "In Mali, some mid-ranking military officers overturned an established democracy that had been functioning for 20 years. Guinea-Bissau, on the other hand, has had so many coups that no one of its presidents has completed a full term in office since the country became independent in 1974."

A second round of voting in presidential elections was scheduled to take place later this month, but on Friday, the heavy favorite, Prime Minister Carlos Gomes Jr., was in army custody along with other senior officials.

The military, which has dominated politics in the country ever since it fought its way to independence from Portugal in 1974, announced it did not intend to stay in power and called a meeting of political parties late Friday.

But military officials did not say what their plans were for the nation of 1.6 million people, which is heavily dependent on aid and considered a major transit hub for Latin American drugs. Once again, in a country long accustomed to coups, the trigger was apparently the army’s perception that its prerogatives were threatened, diplomats said.

On Friday, a self-proclaimed “military command” announced on the radio that it had deposed the prime minister because of what it said was a “secret” agreement between him and military forces from Angola aimed at suppressing Guinea-Bissau’s army. It offered no evidence of the agreement, and diplomats and analysts said it seemed likely that the army was simply trying to eliminate Mr. Gomes before his probable victory in the second round of the presidential election.