JOHANNESBURG — Calm reportedly returned to the capital of the small nation of Eritrea on Monday, a day after a group of soldiers allegedly made a move against the East African country's repressive regime. The Eritrean ambassador to South Africa, in a telephone interview with The Associated Press, denied that anything had happened in Eritrea, which lacks freedom of the press. “There is no sign of mutiny or coup d'état or any other signs of uprising,” insisted Ambassador Salih Omar, adding that “rumors and speculation” came from Westerners who “have been attempting to destabilize the Eritrean government for a long time.” But two Eritrea experts said more than 100 dissident soldiers stormed the Ministry of Information in Asmara on Monday and began to read a statement on state TV saying the country's 1997 constitution would be put into force. The soldiers said all political prisoners would be freed, but the broadcast was cut off after only two sentences were read, said Leonard Vincent, author of the book “The Eritreans” and co-founder of a Paris-based Eritrean radio station. Martin Plaut, a fellow at the Institute of Commonwealth Studies in Britain, said: “My sources say all is quiet on the streets of Asmara now.” The foreign press had scrambled to cover the latest events in the country, even seeking sources and information on the microblogging site Twitter. By late afternoon Monday there were indications the soldiers' attempt would fail. A tank sat in front of the ministry, said a Western diplomat in Eritrea. The US Embassy in Asmara said Monday night that it was “taking precautions and has alerted American citizens living here.” —AP
