Bissau - African Union chief Jean Ping said on Wednesday that normality had returned to Guinea-Bissau two days after the troubled West African state's army chief claimed to have foiled a coup.

Ping paid a brief visit to Bissau in the wake of the foiled coup and clashes which followed on Tuesday, saying the situation was “a source of concern” for the African Union.

“In light of my different meetings I think that the situation has now normalised,” Ping told journalists, adding he was “optimistic” as he left the country for Banjul, Gambia.

“Dialogue must be maintained between authorities, politicians, civilians and soldiers so that together, they can maintain peace, stability and national harmony.”

Ping held talks with Speaker Raimundo Pereira, who is the interim head of state in the absence of President Malam Bacai Sanha, currently undergoing medical care in France.

The AU chief also met with Prime Minister Carlos Gomes Junior.

On Monday, Guinea-Bissau's army chief, Antonio Indjai, said loyalist forces had thwarted a coup bid masterminded by the country's navy chief, who is now under arrest.

One soldier was killed the following night as soldiers combed the seaside capital for suspected coup-plotters and a police commander wanted over the alleged rebellion was subsequently shot dead.

A civil society coalition said on Wednesday the police commander, Yaya Dabo, was about to turn himself in when police opened fire on him.

Guinea-Bissau's history, since independence from Portugal in 1974, has been studded with coups, mutinies and political murders. The small state has also become a drug-trafficking hub, mostly for cocaine from South America to Europe. - Sapa-AFP