Guinea-Bissau opposition leader Fernando Dias, who had been sheltering in an embassy since the coup in late November in his country, was released overnight from Friday to Saturday, while opposition leader Domingos Simoes Pereira, also released, was subsequently placed under house arrest, authorities said on Saturday.

Guinea-Bissau has been ruled since November 26 - the day before the expected announcement of the provisional results of the presidential and legislative elections - by military officers who overthrew outgoing President Umaro Sissoco Embalo and suspended the electoral process.

Fernando Dias was President Embalo's main opponent in the presidential election of November 23.

On November 27, he told AFP that he had won the presidential election and accused Mr. Embalo of having "organized" the coup that brought the military to power.

Mr. Dias indicated that he had managed to escape on the day of the coup, November 26, when armed men arrived at his campaign headquarters in Bissau to arrest him. He then found refuge at the Nigerian embassy, which granted him asylum.

On Friday night, Fernando Dias and former Prime Minister Geraldo Martins were released, Gabriel Yé, communications officer for presidential candidate Dias, confirmed to AFP on Saturday.

"He was released late yesterday evening. He is not under house arrest," Mr. Ye said. "The only restrictions imposed on him by the military authorities are to refrain from

"public statements or engaging in political activities," he stressed, however.

Meanwhile, prominent opposition leader Domingos Simoes Pereira, released Friday night from a prison in Bissau, is the only one of the opponents arrested after the coup to be kept under house arrest.

"All those detained in connection with the coup have been released," confirmed Commander Jorgito Biague, head of communications for the Guinea-Bissau army headquarters, to AFP.

"Domingos Simoes Pereira is the only one under house arrest for economic crimes. His case is in the hands of the justice system and not the military high command," he said.

On Friday evening, he was escorted to his residence on the eastern outskirts of the capital, where he was warmly welcomed by his supporters.

A staunch opponent of President Embalo, Mr. Pereira is the leader of the PAIGC, the historic party that led the country to independence in 1974. He was barred from the presidential election for submitting his candidacy too late. He subsequently supported Fernando Dias.

Guinea-Bissau, a Portuguese-speaking coastal country in West Africa located between Senegal and Guinea (Conakry), had, before the coup of November 26, already experienced four coups and a host of attempted coups since its independence from Portugal.

In a statement dated Friday, the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) "welcomed" the measures recently taken by the transitional authorities aimed, it said, at "fostering an inclusive political environment and advancing the country's return to constitutional order".

She also calls for "the complete release" of Mr. Pereira and for "the guarantee of fundamental rights and freedoms for all citizens".

The organization further urges "all stakeholders to collaborate towards a peaceful and credible transition leading to democratic elections".