Guinea-Bissau’s president flees to Senegal after military seizes power

Guinea-Bissau’s President Umaro Sissoco Embalo has arrived in Senegal after being detained during a military coup in his country, the Senegalese government said on Thursday.

“An aircraft was chartered by the Government to travel to Bissau in order to assist in this repatriation operation. This allowed for the safe and sound arrival in Senegal of President Umaro Sissoco Embalo,” the Senegal Foreign Ministry said in a statement.

The military in Guinea-Bissau earlier on Thursday appointed a general as the country’s new leader, a day after seizing power and halting the announcement of election results.

Opposition candidate Fernando Dias da Costa told AFP he believed he had won Sunday’s election and alleged that Embalo — who also claimed victory — had "organised" the coup to prevent him from taking office.

The coup came one day before the provisional results of the presidential and parliamentary elections were due to be released.

General Horta N’Tam, chief of staff of the army, was designated as the country’s leader for a one-year period.

He took the oath of office at military headquarters, declaring: "I have just been sworn in to lead the High Command."

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ECOWAS suspends Guinea-Bissau

West Africa's ECOWAS regional bloc leaders on Thursday suspended Guinea-Bissau from all its decision-making bodies following a coup in the country, according to a statement that followed an emergency summit.

The bloc condemned the takeover and urged coup leaders to allow the national election commission to declare the results of the disputed presidential election.

Opposition candidate escapes arrest

N’Tam is seen as having been close to Embalo in recent years.

Dias, speaking by telephone from hiding, claimed: "I am the president (elect) of Guinea-Bissau," and said he believed he had won around 52 percent of the vote.

"There wasn’t a coup," he alleged. "It was organised by Mr Embalo."

He said he escaped from his campaign headquarters on Wednesday when armed men attempted to arrest him.

Domingos Simoes Pereira, the main opposition figure who was barred from running and later backed Dias, was arrested on Wednesday.

The military also appointed General Tomas Djassi, formerly Embalo’s personal chief of staff, as chief of staff of the armed forces.

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Military tightens control

Guinea-Bissau came to a standstill on Thursday, with shops closed and soldiers patrolling the streets.

The new military leaders banned all media programming and outlawed protests.

Surrounded by heavily armed soldiers, N’Tam told reporters the military had acted "to block operations that aimed to threaten our democracy."

He said evidence was "sufficient to justify the operation" and urged national participation in the "necessary measures."

Borders, which were sealed on Wednesday, were later reopened, and a nationwide curfew was lifted.

The High Command ordered the reopening of markets, schools and private institutions.

The African Union condemned the coup and demanded Embalo’s immediate release, while ECOWAS chair Julius Maada Bio called it a "grave violation of Guinea-Bissau’s constitutional order."

The European Union urged a swift return to constitutional rule.

Guinea-Bissau has experienced multiple coups since its independence in 1974, and its elections are frequently contested.