2009 — Guinea-Bissau's President Assassinated

On March 2, 2009, Guinea-Bissau's President João Bernardo Vieira was killed when soldiers stormed his home in Bissau. His death came just hours after his rival, armed forces chief Batista Tagme Na Waie, died in a bomb blast, in a sudden spiral of retaliation that shocked the small West African nation.

The two killings, one following the other within hours, exposed the deep military fractures running through Guinea-Bissau. The African Union condemned the violence, and an interim president took office pending new elections. A presidency ended by soldiers, and a rival ended by a bomb, left the country's fragile politics laid bare before the whole continent.