Military appoints new leader in Guinea-Bissau after seizing power

Guinea-Bissau’s military has appointed a new leader, one day after soldiers seized power, arrested President Umaro Sissoco Embaló, and stopped the release of the country’s presidential election results.

Soldiers were seen patrolling around the presidential palace in Bissau on Thursday morning. Residents moved carefully along the main road leading to the area where heavy gunfire was heard on Wednesday.

The army chief of staff, General Horta N’Tam, was sworn in as head of the “High Command” during a ceremony at military headquarters. Dozens of heavily armed soldiers stood guard as he addressed journalists, saying the military acted “to block operations that aimed to threaten our democracy.”

On Wednesday, a group of officers said they had taken “total control” of the country and suspended the entire electoral process. Embaló had been widely expected to win Sunday’s vote before the military intervened.

General N’Tam, who has long been seen as close to Embaló, said there was enough evidence “to justify the operation,” insisting the situation required “urgent and important” measures.

Guinea-Bissau, located between Guinea and Senegal, has experienced four coups and several attempts since independence from Portugal in 1974.

Earlier on Wednesday, General Denis N’Canha, head of the presidential military office, told journalists that the military had taken control “until further notice” after uncovering a plot involving “drug lords” and the smuggling of weapons aimed at destabilising the constitutional order.

The military suspended all election activities, halted media programming, closed all borders, and imposed a mandatory curfew. On Thursday, General Lassana Mansali announced that borders had been reopened.

A military source said Embaló was being held at the general staff headquarters and was “well treated.” A senior officer also confirmed that the chief of staff and the interior minister were in custody.

Opposition leader Domingos Simões Pereira, barred from contesting the 2025 presidential election, was also arrested on Wednesday, according to sources close to him.

The regional bloc ECOWAS strongly condemned the coup, reiterating its “zero-tolerance for unconstitutional changes of government.”

UN Secretary-General António Guterres expressed “deep concern,” while Portugal, the former colonial power, called for calm and warned against violence.

Reporters Without Borders criticised the suspension of media operations, saying it violated the public’s right to know what is happening.

Guinea-Bissau, one of the world’s poorest nations, has long struggled with political instability and drug trafficking, which made stability a key theme of this year’s election.