Guinea-Bissau’s military authorities have appointed the country’s army chief of staff, General Horta N’Tam, as transitional leader for a one-year period, following Wednesday’s takeover that saw the detention of President Umaro Sissoco Embaló and the suspension of election result announcements.
Armed soldiers maintained heavy security around the presidential palace in Bissau on Thursday, a day after intense gunfire rattled the capital. Only a few residents ventured along the main access road as troops consolidated control.
During a brief ceremony at the Armed Forces headquarters, N’Tam took the oath of office, declaring, “I have just been sworn in to lead the High Command.” AFP journalists reported that dozens of heavily armed soldiers were positioned throughout the venue.
Speaking at a press conference, the new military leader said the intervention was required “to block operations that aimed to threaten our democracy.”
He insisted that the evidence prompting the action was “sufficient to justify the operation,” adding that the measures being taken were “urgent and important and require everyone’s participation.”
The takeover was announced on Wednesday by a group of officers who claimed “total control” of the country, halting the release of results from Sunday’s presidential election.
Embaló, who had been widely expected to secure re-election, was arrested and is being held at the general staff headquarters. A military source said he was “well treated.”
General Denis N’Canha, head of the presidential military office, told journalists on Wednesday that the operation was launched after intelligence pointed to a plot involving “drug lords” and the importation of weapons intended to destabilise the constitutional order.
He said all media programming had been suspended and a nationwide curfew imposed.
All borders were initially shut but were reopened on Thursday, according to General Lassana Mansali. Other key figures, including the interior minister and senior officers, were also detained. Opposition leader Domingos Simões Pereira — barred from contesting the presidential poll — was arrested as well, according to sources close to him.
The regional bloc ECOWAS condemned the development, reiterating its “zero-tolerance for unconstitutional changes of government.”
The UN Secretary-General António Guterres expressed “deep concern,” while Portugal urged restraint and warned against violence.
Rights groups also criticised the clampdown on information. Sadibou Marong, Director of Reporters Without Borders’ Sub-Saharan Africa office, said the suspension of media operations was a serious violation.
“The population must be able to be informed about what is happening in the country, especially in this context of political crisis,” he said.
Guinea-Bissau, one of the world’s poorest nations, has a long history of political instability. Since independence in 1974, it has experienced four successful coups and several failed attempts, with the latest takeover adding to West Africa’s recent wave of military interventions in Mali, Burkina Faso, Niger, and Guinea.
