Guinea-Bissau President Oumarro Sissoko Embalo says a shooting incident in the country’s capital was an attempted coup against his government
BISSAU, Guinea-Bissau — BISSAU, Guinea-Bissau (AP) — A shootout in Guinea-Bissau’s capital on Friday was an attempted coup, President Oumarro Sissoko Embalo said Sunday after a meeting with security forces, confirming fears of the latest threat to democracy in increasingly volatile and coup-hit West Africa.
“They attempted a coup and failed to achieve their objective,” said Embalo, after members of the National Guard command improperly released two ministers held for alleged corruption, resulting in a shootout with the Presidential Palace battalion.
During a visit to the National Guard headquarters in Bissau, Embalo said Victor Tsongo, the head of the National Guard, had been fired and “will pay dearly” for trying to oust the president.
“You are all betrayed by your commander… (and) that is why we advise you to distance yourself from politicians and do your service to the nation,” he told the officers.
The coup attempt is the second in West and Central Africa in a week following last week’s failed coup in Sierra Leone. It further raises tensions in the region where coups have increased with eight military takeovers since 2020, including in Niger and Gabon this year.
The West African regional economic bloc ECOWAS – which includes Guinea-Bissau – noted the incident with “deep concern” and expressed “full solidarity with the people and constitutional authority of Guinea-Bissau”.
After returning from the United Nations COP28 climate summit on Saturday night, Embalo suggested to reporters that the National Guard’s Tchongo was not acting alone.
“Tchongo was ordered by someone,” The Democrat, a local newspaper, quoted him as saying. “Tchongo is not crazy about blowing up the judicial police cells and removing the finance minister and the foreign minister. This is an attempted coup and there will be serious consequences for all involved.”
The small nation of Guinea-Bissau has suffered multiple coups since gaining independence from Portugal nearly five decades ago.
However, unlike other coups in West Africa, which were inspired by poor governance, the shootout in Guinea-Bissau began as members of the Presidential Palace’s order sought to re-arrest two government officials — Economy and Finance Minister Suleiman Seidi and the Minister of Finance, Antonio. Monteiro.
Both were questioned about the use of government funds before National Guard members secretly released them, local media reported.
Guinea-Bissau’s semi-presidential system limits the powers of the president by allowing the majority party in parliament to appoint the cabinet. As a result, the National Guard—which reports to the Interior Ministry—is largely controlled by the opposition-dominated parliament.
Tensions also remained between Embalo and a coalition of opposition groups that won a majority in Guinea-Bissau’s parliament in June, more than a year after the president dissolved parliament.
Embalo, a former general, was declared the winner of the December 2019 presidential election, in which he was contested by his opponent. It survived a February 2022 coup attempt it claimed was “related to our fight against drug trafficking” and has since cracked down on civil liberties, while government bodies have lost significant independence, analysts say.
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Asadu reported from Abuja, Nigeria.