It's very calm. Life's completely normal here in the city

Antonio Amoreira Martins, EU delegate

However the capital remains calm and there have been no signs of shooting or fighting, according to western diplomats.

Guinea Bissau is going through a constitutional crisis, after President Kumba Yala sacked three senior judges.

They were subsequently arrested, along with several journalists.

Vieira loyalists

Mr Nhasse said that the two military men arrested on Sunday evening had spent six months preparing the coup.

Some of those on the run are alleged to have links to former President Nino Vieira, who was overthrown in 1998.

Some of those implicated allegedly support Vieira

On Monday afternoon, security forces were searching districts close to the airport for people allegedly implicated in the plot, witnesses told the French news agency, AFP.

But the European Union delegate in Bissau, Antonio Amoreira Martins, told the AP news agency that life in the capital was carrying on as usual.

"It's very calm. Life's completely normal here in the city," he said.

A year ago, the man who toppled Mr Vieira, Ansumane Mane, was shot dead after staging another coup - this time against Mr Yala.

Mr Yala, a long-time opposition leader, was democratically elected president in January 200.