Military officers in Guinea-Bissau say they seized ‘total control’ in coup
Military officers in Guinea-bissau have announced that they have taken “total control” of the contry after arresting President Umaro Sissoco Embalo in a coup. Gunfire was reported near the presidential palace in the capital, Bissau, followed by the president’s detention at the military’s general staff headquarters.Brigadier General Denis N’Canha, the military spokesperson and apparent coup leader, declared the suspension of all state institutions and the establishment of a new governing body called the High Military Command for the Restoration of National Security and Public Order.
The military justified their takeover by citing the discovery of a plan too manipulate election results, involving national politicians, a known drug lord, and foreign individuals. Guinea-Bissau has long struggled with instability and drug trafficking influence in politics, prompting the United Nations to label it a “narco-state.” Notably, N’Canha was previously head of the presidential guard, underscoring the irony of the coup.
In response to the coup, a curfew has been implemented, internet access is reportedly being cut off, and opposition leader Domingos Simoes Pereira has also been detained. Since gaining independence from Portugal, Guinea-Bissau has experienced chronic political instability marked by multiple coups and attempted coups.
Military officers in Guinea-Bissau say they seized ‘total control’ and arrested president in coup
Military officers said they seized “total control” in Guinea-Bissau after arresting the president, following a contentious election.
Gunfire erupted near the presidential palace in the capital of Bissau on Wednesday. President Umaro Sissoco Embalo was quickly arrested by the military, who detained him at the general staff headquarters. A military source told AFP that he was being “well-treated.” After his arrest, Brig. Gen. Denis N’Canha, military spokesman and apparent leader of the coup, gave a press conference, surrounded by armed soldiers in camouflage fatigues, declaring that the military seized “total control.”
“The High Military Command for the reestablishment of national and public order decides to immediately depose the President of the Republic, to suspend, until new orders, all of the institutions of the Republic of Guinea-Bissau,” N’Canha said.
The coup, he said, was in reaction to “the discovery of an ongoing plan” to destabilize the country by trying to “manipulate electoral results” in a scheme set up by some “national politicians with the participation of a well-known drug lord, and domestic and foreign nationals.”
Guinea-Bissau has become a major drug trafficking hub, with alleged drug cartel influence on politics a significant source of discontent. The United Nations has gone so far as to call it a “narco-state.”
N’Canha called the new government the High Military Command for the Restoration of National Security and the Public Order, set up by the “various ranks of the armed forces.”
Ironically, N’Canha was the head of the presidential guard before the coup, Al Jazeera reported.
“The man supposed to protect the president himself has put the president under arrest,” Al Jazeera reporter Nicolas Haque said.
BOLSONARO ARRESTED DAYS AHEAD OF IMPRISONMENT TO ‘ENSURE PUBLIC ORDER’
“We’ve just heard that the military is trying to cut off the Internet. There’s a curfew in place,” he said, adding that the head of the main opposition PAIGC party, Domingos Simoes Pereira, was also detained.
Guinea-Bissau has been beset by chronic instability since its independence from Portugal, experiencing four successful and five attempted coups since 1980, according to the BBC. The latest alleged attempt happened last month.
" Conservative News Daily does not always share or support the views and opinions expressed here; they are just those of the writer."
*As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases
