Guinea-Bissau military claims 'ethnic civil war' risk justifies coup

Guinea-Bissau's military authorities on Thursday justified taking power in the West African nation by arguing the country faced the "risk of ethnic civil war" after last month's elections.

After toppling sitting President Umaro Sissoco Embalo on November 26, the military initially alleged drug barons were conspiring to sow chaos in the country.

But on Thursday, in a document proclaiming the establishment of a consultative National Transitional Council, the authorities argued that Guinea-Bissau faced a "grave" political situation in the wake of the ballot "which could degenerate into a civil war with ethnic undertones."

"The Armed Forces were once again compelled to intervene, resulting in another change to the constitutional order through force," said a resolution issued by the high military command on Thursday seen by AFP.

Electoral commission says can't publish results

Guinea-Bissau had already seen four coups and numerous more attempted takeovers since independence from Portugal in 1974.

The military named General Horta N'Tam, considered a close ally of Embalo, to head a transitional administration set to last a year.

Embalo's main rival in the ballot was Fernando Dias, who claimed, without proof, to have won the November 23 presidential election.

The country's electoral commission said on Tuesday that it was unable to publish the results of the recent presidential and parliamentary elections as its offices had been raided by masked men who destroyed its records on the day of the coup.