Military officers in Guinea-Bissau announced on Wednesday that they had taken “total control” of the country, suspending the electoral process and sealing national borders in what appears to be another attempted coup in the coup-prone West African nation. The announcement, broadcast from army headquarters on state television, came hours after heavy gunfire erupted near the presidential palace in Bissau. Security forces blocked surrounding roads and erected checkpoints manned by heavily armed, masked soldiers.
President Umaro Sissoco Embaló told Jeune Afrique that he was arrested in his office alongside Armed Forces Chief of Staff General Biague Na Ntan, his deputy General Mamadou Touré, and Interior Minister Botché Candé. Embaló described the unfolding events as “a coup,” saying the officers had acted to derail the electoral process. Guinea-Bissau held presidential and legislative elections on Sunday, with both Embaló and opposition candidate Fernando Dias da Costa prematurely claiming victory. Official provisional results were expected on Thursday, heightening political tensions. The latest crisis comes less than a month after several senior military officers were detained for allegedly plotting a coup. Guinea-Bissau has experienced four successful coups and numerous failed attempts since gaining independence from Portugal in 1973, leaving its political landscape chronically unstable.
