Guinea-Bissau president calls violence 'attempted coup'

Guinea-Bissau's President Umaro Sissoco Embalo said this week's deadly violence in the capital between the army and members of the National Guard was an "attempted coup".

Embalo, who was attending the COP28 climate conference in Dubai, said he had been unable to return immediately "due to the attempted coup d'etat. I must tell you this act will have serious consequences", he said after arriving back in Bissau on Saturday.

Earlier today, the country's army ordered National Guard forces back to barracks, following unrest that left at least two people dead and brought condemnation from the regional bloc ECOWAS.

Clashes between members of the National Guard and special forces of the presidential guard broke out Thursday night in the capital Bissau, leaving two dead.

A military official, speaking anonymously due to the sensitive nature of the situation, said six soldiers were injured in the fighting and evacuated to neighbouring Senegal.

Calm had returned by noon on Friday to the small nation with a history of instability, following the announcement that the army had captured Colonel Victor Tchongo, commander of the National Guard.

On Saturday the security presence in Bissau was reduced, but soldiers were still visible around certain strategic buildings such as the presidential palace, the judicial police headquarters and some ministries.

Calls for prosecution of the perpetrators

Some National Guard officers and soldiers fled into the interior of the country, the army said in a statement Saturday, without specifying numbers.

"The General Staff of the armed forces hereby informs them that they must return to their place of assignment," the statement continued.

The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), in a statement Saturday, said it "strongly condemns the violence and all attempts to disrupt the constitutional order and rule of law in Guinea-Bissau".

"ECOWAS further calls for the arrest and prosecution of the perpetrators of the incident in accordance with the law," the Abuja-based organisation added.

The regional bloc also expressed "its full solidarity with the people and constitutional authorities of Guinea-Bissau".

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Source: TRT