Guinea-Bissau’s President Umaro Sissoco Embalo said on Wednesday that he was arrested inside the presidential palace amid what he described as a coup d’etat. He confirmed that the army chief of staff, General Biague Na Ntan, deputy chief of staff General Mamadou Traore, and Interior Minister Botche Cande were also detained.
Embalo said no force was used during his arrest. The development came as reporters in Bissau reported gunfire around the National Electoral Commission headquarters and adjoining areas.
The country is still awaiting official results from Sunday’s presidential election. Embalo had earlier claimed he won 65 per cent of the vote, while his main opponent, Fernando Dias de Costa, also declared victory.
Later on Wednesday, military officers announced they were taking “total control” of the country. According to AFP, the officers suspended the electoral process and shut the nation’s borders, three days after legislative and presidential polls.
General Denis N’Canha, head of the presidential military office, told journalists that a unified command comprising all branches of the armed forces would lead the country “until further notice.” Surrounded by armed soldiers, he alleged the discovery of a plot involving “national drug lords” aimed at destabilising the state and importing weapons to undermine constitutional order.
The military also imposed a mandatory curfew, halted media programmes, and suspended all electoral activities.
Guinea-Bissau, one of the world’s poorest nations, has a history of instability, experiencing four coups and several attempted coups since independence. It also serves as a major transit hub for international drug trafficking, a trade sustained by recurring political crises.
