In one of West Africa’s most unstable countries, Guinea-Bissau, a group of army officers announced they had taken over the reigns of government on Wednesday, just a day before the scheduled announcement of results of a keenly contested presidential election.
A statement read on state television by spokesperson Diniz N’Tchama, the army officers stated they had removed President Umaro Sissoco Embalo, suspended the electoral process, shut borders and would enforce a curfew in the country.
A Reuter’s report quoted Embalo on France 24 TV as saying: “I have been deposed.”
The army officers informed a weary nation in their statement that they had formed “The High Military Command for the Restoration of Order” and would be in charge of the West African country until further notice.
But they did not specify if they had taken Embalo into custody.
Two security sources stated that he was being held at the office of the army chief of staff.
In a video statement distributed by his campaign late Wednesday, Fernando Dias, Embalo’s top challenger in the election, said he was free and in a safe place after armed men tried to take him into custody.
Dias said former Prime Minister Domingos Simoes Pereira, who Embalo defeated in the 2019 election, had been detained also.
He said: “We have been the target of a false coup attempt for the simple reason that I won the elections… This is a simulation.”
The African Union and West African regional bloc ECOWAS, in a joint statement on Wednesday night expressing “deep concern” over the coup announcement, said officials in charge of the electoral process had also been arrested and called for their immediate release.
The coup led to the latest outbreak of unrest in Guinea-Bissau, a small coastal nation situated between Senegal and Guinea that is a notorious hub for cocaine bound for Europe.
Credit: Reuters
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