Military officers in Guinea-Bissau have announced that they have taken “total control” of the country on Wednesday, deposing President Umaro Sissoco Embaló and suspending the electoral process just a day before official presidential election results were expected .
The coup, led by General Denis N’Canha, head of the military household at the presidential palace, marks the latest upheaval in a nation with a long history of political instability .
The crisis erupted on Wednesday when sustained gunfire was heard near key government buildings in the capital, Bissau, including the presidential palace, the Interior Ministry, and the National Electoral Commission, prompting hundreds of civilians to flee the areas .
President Embaló confirmed his ouster in a phone call to France 24, stating, “I have been deposed,” and revealing he had been arrested without force in his office . Shortly after, military officers appeared on state television, identifying themselves as the “High Military Command for the Restoration of Order” . They announced the suspension of the electoral process, the closure of all international borders, and the imposition of an indefinite overnight curfew .
The military justified its actions by claiming it had uncovered a plot involving politicians and a “well-known drug lord” to “destabilize the country” and “manipulate electoral results” .
In addition to President Embaló, several high-ranking officials and political figures were arrested.
𝗙𝗼𝗹𝗹𝗼𝘄 𝗢𝘂𝗿 𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁𝘀𝗔𝗽𝗽 𝗖𝗵𝗮𝗻𝗻𝗲𝗹 𝗧𝗼 𝗚𝗲𝘁 𝗟𝗮𝘁𝗲𝘀𝘁 𝗡𝗲𝘄𝘀 𝗔𝘀 𝗜𝘁'𝘀 𝗗𝗿𝗼𝗽!
