Media: President speaks of attempted coup in Guinea-Bissau

Bissau (dpa) - A few days after presidential and parliamentary elections in Guinea-Bissau, there is a threat of a violent coup in the West African coastal country. According to the French magazine Jeune Afrique, President Umaro Sissoco Embaló said he was arrested on Wednesday afternoon in his office in the presidential palace. He accused the army chief of staff of leading a coup against him, the magazine reported. 

According to media reports, gunshots were heard at times in the capital Bissau. The background to the events remained largely unclear at first. Embaló had spoken several times in the past about coup attempts against him, including in 2022, 2023 and October. 

According to Jeune Afrique, Embaló said that Interior Minister Botché Candé, the Chief of Staff of the Armed Forces and his deputy had also been arrested. However, he said that no violence had been used against him. 

Overdue elections

Guinea-Bissau, with a population of around 2.2 million on the Atlantic coast, is one of the poorest countries in the world. The tropical country is considered an important cocaine hub for drug smuggling to Europe.

Overdue presidential and parliamentary elections took place on Sunday. Both Embaló and his most promising challenger, Fernando Dias, subsequently declared themselves the winner. The results of the peaceful vote were to be published by Thursday.

Embaló (53) has been in power since 2020 and dissolved parliament at the end of 2023. His term of office expired months ago. Critics accuse him of oppressing opposition figures, journalists and human rights activists. The main opposition party was excluded from the election and supported the independent candidate Dias. 

Coups have been on the rise in West and Central Africa for several years. Mali, Burkina Faso, Niger, Guinea, Chad and Gabon have experienced unconstitutional military takeovers since 2020. There have been coup attempts in several other countries.