Bissau, Guinea-Bissau – Following Wednesday’s military coup, the leaders of the putsch in Guinea-Bissau have installed General Horta Inta as the transitional President. The announcement came a day after the military seized power, ousting the civilian leadership before the official results of the recent elections could be released.
General Inta, clad in military attire and surrounded by fellow military officials, was shown on state television in his first public appearance as President. He declared that the coup was necessary to thwart a plot by “drug traffickers” to undermine Guinean democracy. Inta stated that the transitional period would last for one year, effective immediately.
The capital, Bissau, remained relatively calm, with soldiers deployed throughout the streets. Many residents stayed home even after the lifting of the overnight curfew. Businesses and banks remained closed. Later Thursday, General Tomas Djassi was appointed as the Army Chief of Staff during a swearing-in ceremony.
Meanwhile, the ousted President of Guinea-Bissau, Umaro Sissoco Embalo, has arrived in Senegal aboard a private plane, according to a statement from the Senegalese Foreign Ministry. This intervention was reportedly facilitated by the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS).
The officers, identifying themselves as the “High Military Command for the Restoration of Order,” stated in a televised address on Wednesday that they overthrew Embalo in response to a destabilization plan involving politicians and major drug dealers.
This marks the ninth coup in West and Central Africa in the past five years, continuing a pattern of instability in Guinea-Bissau, a nation notorious as a transit hub for cocaine trafficking and with a long history of military intervention in politics. The power grab occurred just a day before the anticipated release of preliminary election results between Embalo and Fernando Dias, a 47-year-old political newcomer who emerged as Embalo’s strongest challenger.
Prior to the coup announcement, gunfire erupted in Bissau for approximately an hour near the electoral commission headquarters and the presidential palace. Reports indicate that Embalo contacted French media outlets to announce his removal from office, while the military asserted that Embalo and other high-ranking officials were “under control.”
