Guinea-Bissau’s ousted president, Umaro Sissoco Embaló, has been transported to Senegal after soldiers removed him from power and later allowed him to leave the country. Senegalese authorities confirmed late Thursday that he arrived aboard a military aircraft arranged following mediation efforts by Ecowas, which had been pushing for his safe release amid rapidly escalating tensions in Bissau.
As Embaló departed, Guinea-Bissau’s armed forces moved ahead with installing Gen Horta N’Tam as the head of a one-year transitional administration. His appointment came only hours after the military interrupted the release of provisional results from tightly contested presidential and parliamentary elections scheduled for announcement a day after the coup. The junta halted the entire electoral process, citing an alleged plan by unidentified political figures—whom they accused of working with a prominent drug trafficker—to undermine national stability. A curfew was introduced as part of their takeover.
Regional diplomats have avoided addressing Embaló’s physical condition, but Sierra Leone’s foreign minister noted that securing his extraction from the crisis quickly became Ecowas’ main focus. Sierra Leone’s president, who currently leads the regional bloc, reached out to the Guinea-Bissau military on Wednesday seeking guarantees for Embaló’s safety before the evacuation was arranged.
The small West African nation, positioned between Senegal and Guinea, has long struggled with political turbulence and is often described as a hub for international narcotics networks. Military influence has remained strong since independence from Portugal in 1974, contributing to decades of instability. Sunday’s presidential vote only added to the volatility, with both Embaló and his chief challenger, Fernando Dias, claiming to have secured victory. Dias was supported by former prime minister Domingos Pereira, who had been barred from running. Government insiders later indicated that Dias, Pereira, and Interior Minister Botché Candé were also detained after the coup.
Public gatherings have been prohibited, and the junta has banned actions it considers disruptive to national order. Soldiers patrolled the streets of Bissau on Thursday, leaving most markets and shops shut, according to reports from the capital. Earlier that day, borders and major transit routes—closed at the onset of the takeover—were reopened following the swearing-in of Gen N’Tam. In his first address, he argued that the military’s intervention was intended to prevent a destabilising plan targeting the country’s political system.
Some activists inside Guinea-Bissau, however, have accused the former president of orchestrating his own downfall with military collaborators to keep the election results from being published, particularly if the outcome proved unfavourable. Dias echoed these suspicions, insisting that he won the vote with roughly 52% support and describing events as a staged power grab. Embaló, who has long insisted that his presidency has faced repeated coup attempts, has not responded to these newest claims. His opponents, meanwhile, have previously argued that he often invoked security crises for political advantage.
The reaction from international organisations has been swift. Ecowas suspended Guinea-Bissau from its decision-making structures until civilian rule is restored and has demanded that soldiers withdraw from political authority. The African Union issued its own condemnation, and the United Nations expressed deep concern, urging a rapid return to constitutional governance.
The turmoil marks yet another chapter in Guinea-Bissau’s troubled political history, as the nation has endured at least nine coups or attempted coups in the past fifty years.
