Lisbon - Two soldiers reportedly exchanged fire inside the government palace of Sao Tome and Principe on Thursday, leaving one soldier dead and the other severely injured.

The government of the former Portuguese island colony located off the coast of West Africa said there was no political motive for the shooting.

The incident was the result an argument between the two guards, Portugal's news agency Lusa quoted a government spokesman as saying.

"We have absolutely no explanation for the incident," Idalecio Pachire, the head of the military said. "The soldiers had recently become close friends." (dpa)