BISSAU
Guinea-Bissau was plunged into turmoil on Wednesday after a group of army officers announced they had taken power, halting the hotly contested presidential election a day before provisional results were due.
In a statement read on state TV, spokesperson Diniz N’Tchama said the officers had removed President Umaro Sissoco Embaló, suspended the electoral process and closed all borders. A curfew was announced as the officers unveiled a junta called the High Military Command for the Restoration of Order.
Shortly after the broadcast, President Embaló told France 24 he had been “deposed.” Although the officers did not clarify his whereabouts, security sources told Reuters he was being held at the office of the army chief of staff. Opposition candidate Fernando Dias and former premier Domingos Simões Pereira were also reportedly detained.
The African Union and ECOWAS voiced “deep concern” and said officials overseeing the election had been arrested. The two bodies called for their immediate release and urged respect for constitutional order.
Guinea-Bissau, a nation of about two million people, has a long history of political instability and is considered a key transit point for cocaine bound for Europe. The military said it intervened to counter a plot by “national politicians” and “drug barons” to destabilise the country and manipulate the vote.
Witnesses reported heavy gunfire near key government installations before the coup announcement. The U.S. mission warned of military checkpoints and possible renewed gunfire.
The election was expected to determine whether Embaló would become the first president in three decades to secure a second consecutive term.
