Current:Home > MarketsGuinea-Bissau’s leader calls a shootout an attempted coup, heightening tensions in West Africa-DB Wealth Institute B2 Expert Reviews
Guinea-Bissau’s leader calls a shootout an attempted coup, heightening tensions in West Africa
View Date:2024-12-23 23:43:20
BISSAU, Guinea Bissau (AP) — A shootout in Guinea-Bissau’s capital Friday was an attempted coup, President Umaro Sissoco Embalo said Sunday after a meeting with security forces, confirming fears over the latest threat to democracy in the increasingly volatile and coup-hit West Africa.
“They attempted a coup and failed to materialize their objective,” Embalo said, after members of the National Guard command improperly released two ministers detained over alleged corruption, resulting in a shootout with the Presidential Palace Battalion.
During a visit to the National Guard command in Bissau, Embalo said Victor Tchongo, the head of the National Guard, has been dismissed and “will pay dearly” for the attempt to depose the president.
“You are all betrayed by your commander … (and) this is why we advise you to distance yourself from politicians and do your service to the nation,” he told officers.
The attempted coup is the second in West and Central Africa in a week after last week’s failed coup in Sierra Leone. It further raises tensions in the region where coups have surged with eight military takeovers since 2020, including in Niger and Gabon this year.
West Africa’s regional economic bloc of ECOWAS — to which Guinea-Bissau belongs — 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 Tchongo of the National Guard 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 Judiciary Police cells and removing the minister of finance and the secretary of state. This is an attempted coup d’état and there will be serious consequences for everyone involved.”
The small nation of Guinea-Bissau has endured multiple coups since gaining independence from Portugal nearly five decades ago.
However, unlike in other coups in West Africa which have been inspired by perceived bad governance, the shootout in Guinea-Bissau started as the members of the Presidential Palace Battalion tried to rearrest two government officials — Economy and Finance Minister Suleimane Seidi and Treasury Secretary António Monteiro.
Both were being questioned over the use of government funds before the members of the National Guard secretly released them, local media reported.
Guinea-Bissau’s semi-presidential system limits the president’s powers by allowing the majority party in the parliament to appoint the Cabinet. As a result, the National Guard – which is under the Ministry of Interior – is largely controlled by the opposition-dominated parliament.
Tensions have also remained between Embalo and a coalition of opposition groups that won the majority in Guinea Bissau’s parliament in June, more than one year after the president dissolved the parliament.
Embalo, a former army general, was declared the winner of a December 2019 runoff presidential election which his opponent contested. He survived a February 2022 coup attempt that he asserted had “to do with our fight against narco-trafficking” and has since then cracked down on civic freedoms while government bodies have lost significant independence, according to analysts.
—-
Asadu reported from Abuja, Nigeria.
veryGood! (57611)
Related
- A Pipeline Runs Through It
- Detroit casino workers launch strike for better pay and benefits
- Mega Millions numbers from Tuesday's drawing: Jackpot reaches $69 million
- Workers are paying 7% more this year for employer-sponsored health insurance
- 'Bizarre:' Naked man arrested after found in crawl space of California woman's home
- Armed robbers target Tigers’ Dominican complex in latest robbery of MLB facility in the country
- Detroit casino workers launch strike for better pay and benefits
- Twitter influencer sentenced for trying to trick Clinton supporters to vote by text
- Taylor Swift touches down in Kansas City as Chiefs take on Denver Broncos
- Tropical Storm Norma could become Category 3 hurricane before hitting Mexican resorts at Los Cabos
Ranking
- Rita Ora pays tribute to Liam Payne at MTV Europe Music Awards: 'He brought so much joy'
- Coastal county and groups sue to overturn federal approval of New Jersey’s 1st offshore wind farm
- Corrupt ex-Baltimore police officer asks for compassionate prison release, citing cancer diagnosis
- Failed referendum on Indigenous rights sets back Australian government plans to become a republic
- IAT Community Introduce
- Deshaun Watson 'can't put a timeline on' return as Browns QB misses another practice
- US says initial independent review shows no evidence of bomb strike on Gaza hospital
- Not just autoworkers: Grad students make up a growing share of UAW members
Recommendation
-
Kate Spade Outlet’s Early Black Friday Sale – Get a $259 Bag for $59 & More Epic Deals Starting at $25
-
Harry Jowsey Jokes About Stage Marriage With DWTS Pro Rylee Arnold After Being Called Lovebirds
-
Georgia sheriff to release body camera video of traffic stop in which deputy killed exonerated man
-
Cruise ship explosion in Maine burns employee, prompts passenger evacuations
-
Lions QB Jared Goff, despite 5 interceptions, dared to become cold-blooded
-
Netflix drops new cast photos for live action 'The Last Airbender' with Daniel Dae Kim
-
Week 7 fantasy football rankings: Injuries, byes leave lineups extremely thin
-
Cruise ship explosion in Maine burns employee, prompts passenger evacuations