In Guinea-Bissau’s capital, Bissau, streets were all but empty on Thursday following the announcement of a coup d’état by military personnel, which suspended the election process, arrested the president, and sealed the nation’s borders.
Only a few individuals strolled down the major access road, and soldiers were observed monitoring the area surrounding the presidential mansion. A day previously, there had been reports of heavy gunfire in the vicinity.
Military patrols stormed through the capital overnight, according to AFP journalists.
On Wednesday, a group of military commanders declared that they had taken “total control” of the nation, delaying the Thursday announcement of the preliminary results of the presidential election held last Sunday.
Even after self-proclaimed win claims started to circulate before the election commission released official certification, President Umaro Sissoco Embalo, who is regarded as the front-runner in the polls, continues to play a crucial role in the problem.
The chief of the presidential military office, General Denis N’Canha, informed reporters early on Wednesday that a new command structure had taken control.
Additionally, he said that the discovery of a destabilization scheme involving “drug lords” set off the coup.
He said that “the introduction of weapons into the country to alter the constitutional order” was part of the plot.
Important national systems were suspended, according to the military command.
The junta claimed that it closed the “land, air, and sea” borders, suspended “all media programming,” stopped “the entire electoral process,” and imposed “mandatory curfew.”
Restrictions were also imposed on the nation following reports that officials had been arrested during the takeover.
The leader of the “High Command for the Restoration of Order” is anticipated to be named on Thursday, according to a military source who spoke with AFP.
Since gaining independence from Portugal in 1974, Guinea-Bissau, which is sandwiched between Guinea and Senegal, has had four successful coups. There have also been other attempts to seize control of the nation.
In recent years, there have been more military incursions in the West African region, especially in Guinea, Burkina Faso, Niger, and Mali, where governments had previously been overthrown.
