Guinea-Bissau’s capital, Bissau, was largely deserted on Thursday as soldiers tightened their grip on the city following a military takeover that disrupted the announcement of the country’s election results and led to the arrest of President Umaro Sissoco Embaló.
Armed troops were seen patrolling the vicinity of the presidential palace, with only a handful of residents moving cautiously along the usually busy road leading to the complex.
The area had been rattled by sustained gunfire on Wednesday, just days after Sunday’s presidential and legislative elections.
According to journalists from Agence France-Presse, security forces conducted overnight patrols across the capital as uncertainty deepened.
A group of military officers announced on Wednesday that they had assumed “total control” of the state, suspending the electoral process even as provisional results were expected to be released on Thursday. President Embaló had widely been projected to win the vote.
General Denis N’Canha, who heads the presidential military office, addressed reporters on Thursday, confirming that a joint command of the army, navy, and air force had taken charge of the country “until further notice.”
“We uncovered a plan designed to destabilise our nation,” he claimed, alleging the involvement of “drug traffickers” and the “smuggling of weapons aimed at undermining our constitutional order.”
He further announced the suspension of the electoral process, a shutdown of all media activities, and the closure of Guinea-Bissau’s land, air, and sea borders. A mandatory curfew has also been imposed across the country.
A military source said the commander of the newly formed “High Command for the Restoration of Order” would be named later on Thursday.
Guinea-Bissau, situated between Guinea and Senegal, has a long history of instability, having experienced four successful coups and several failed attempts since gaining independence from Portugal in 1974.
The takeover adds to a troubling pattern of military uprisings in West Africa, where Mali, Burkina Faso, Niger, and Guinea have all seen their governments overthrown in recent years.
