Guinea-Bissau ex-PM quits hiding

Carlos Gomes Jr received a written guarantee of his safety

Guinea-Bissau's former Prime Minister Carlos Gomes Jr has left a UN diplomatic mission in the capital two weeks after seeking refuge there.

UN officials said he left after getting a written guarantee that a warrant for his arrest had been dropped.

He went into hiding after he accused the president of being behind the recent killing of an ex-military commander, which the government denies.

Joao Bernardo Vieira, a former military ruler, won elections in 2005.

Mr Gomes heads the main opposition African Party for the Independence of Guinea and Cape Verde (PAIGC), which said the elections had been rigged.

The polls came after a two-year peace process following the ousting of ex-President Kumba Yala.

Mr Vieira returned to Guinea-Bissau to contest the election after six years of exile in Portugal. He said he had come back as a "soldier of peace".

Government officials described Mr Gomes' charges against the president as slanderous and asked for them to be withdrawn.

UN chief Ban Ki-moon says he welcomes the resolution to the situation.

"The secretary-general is pleased that a mutually agreeable solution has been found to the disagreement," AP news agency quotes his spokesman as saying.