The prime minister of Sao Tome and Principe, Raul Braganca Neto, has rejected an ultimatum from a group of former army coup leaders who are demanding improved retirement conditions.

The group of about forty retired officers, who were involved in a failed coup in 1995, gave the government until July the eleventh to fulfil its promise to give them financial compensation and farm land, as agreed after the coup attempt.

The officers were never charged in connection with the coup, and correspondents say they are regarded as influential figures in the top ranks of the army.