Ansumane Mané Ansumane Mané ( c . 1940 – 30 November 2000 ) was a Guinea - Bissau soldier who led a 1998 uprising against the government of President João Bernardo Vieira , which caused a brief , but bloody Civil War . Military background . Mané fought in the war of independence from Portugal alongside Vieira , and he backed Vieira when the latter seized power in a 1980 coup . In early 1998 , he was suspended as Chief of Staff of the armed forces for allegedly smuggling arms to Casamance separatist rebels in Senegal . In a letter published in early April 1998 , he in turn made the same accusation against the Minister of Defense , Samba Lamine Mané , and other officers ; he also alleged that Vieira had permitted the arms smuggling and claimed that he was suspended as Chief of Staff in connection with " shady plan to mount a coup d ' état " . Mané was subsequently dismissed by Vieira and replaced by General Humberto Gomes on 6 June 1998 . He led a military rebellion against Vieira on the following day , resulting in the civil war . A peace agreement in November 1998 provided for a transitional national unity government and new elections . After Vieira was deposed on 7 May 1999 in a renewed outbreak of fighting , Mané became temporary head of state ( official title : " Chairman of the Supreme Command of the Military Junta " ) until 14 May when Malam Bacai Sanhá , the President of the National People ' s Assembly , was installed as acting President . Political growth . The military junta headed by Mané remained in place during the transitional period leading to new elections ; Mané cast himself as a guardian of democracy . A parliamentary election , along with the first round of a presidential election , was held on 28 November 1999 . Two weeks prior to this , Mané ' s junta proposed an arrangement giving it power over the government for ten years , which would enable it to dissolve the government in case of a severe political crisis ; however , political parties objected to this and the proposal was dropped . Although the junta backed the presidential candidacy of Malam Bacai Sanhá of the African Party for the Independence of Guinea and Cape Verde ( PAIGC ) in the second round of the election , held in January 2000 , Kumba Ialá of the Party for Social Renewal ( PRS ) was victorious . Prior to the election , Ialá had already said that it would not be acceptable for the junta to remain in any capacity . Downfall . Although the junta was dissolved following Ialá ' s victory , Mané remained powerful , acting as an obstacle to Ialá ' s authority . At one point he refused to allow Ialá to go to Senegal on a state visit ; he also accompanied Ialá on a visit to Nigeria . In November 2000 , Ialá promoted a number of senior military officers ; Mané objected to the promotions and declared himself head of the armed forces . He revoked Ialá ' s promotions , placed military chief of staff Verissimo Correia Seabra and deputy chief of staff Emilio Costa under house arrest , and appointed General Buota Nan Batcha as the new chief of staff . When issuing a communique claiming that the situation was calm , he signed it as the head of the junta , which had previously been dissolved when Ialá was elected President . Fighting broke out on 23 November between forces loyal to Mané and those loyal to Seabra . The government subsequently said that Mané fled to Quinhamel in Biombo Region , in the west of the country . Death . He was killed during a shootout with government forces in Biombo Region a week later , on 30 November 2000 , along with two others . Although state television broadcast images of three bodies , these were deemed unrecognizable by the international media . The opposition PAIGC said that Mané was correct to oppose the promotions . Among Mané ' s most prominent allies was Naval Chief of Staff Mohamed Lamine Sanha .