1st February, 2022
Soldiers in Guinea-Bissau appeared to be enacting another coup d’etat script as gunfire erupted in the capital and the presidential palace.
The whereabouts of President Umaro Sissoco Embalo and Prime Minister Nuno Gomes Nabiam were unclear as ECOWAS declared the unfolding drama as “attempted coup”.
In a statement, ECOWAS condemned the shooting and urged troops to return to barracks.
It was not clear yet whether the coup had succeeded and whether the soldier had beaten a retreat to the barracks.
However, social media posts indicated there were some casualties in the shooting.
Photographs posted showed several people lying dead on the streets.
Soldiers around 12:30 today attacked the Government Palace, when the President and his ministers were meeting.
The exchange of firing between this group and other military lasted about 45 minutes, causing panic.
The Palais of the Government, the Presidential Palace, the private residence of the President of the Republic and the Ministry of the Interior were said to have been surrounded by heavily armed men.
The Head of State, President Embalo has not spoken.
One of the poorest countries in the world, the former Portuguese colony has seen nine coups or attempted coups since 1980.
Struggling with a massive foreign debt and an economy that relies heavily on foreign aid, the country has also become a transhipment point for Latin American drugs, leading it to be dubbed by some as Africa’s first narco-state.
While Mr Embalo won the December 2019 presidential election, he faced a last-minute stand-off with parliament before taking office the following February.