African Union suspends Guinea-Bissau 'with immediate effect' after coup
The High Military Command for the Restoration of National Security and Public Order appointed Gen. Horta Inta-A as the transitional president of Guinea-Bissau on Thursday.
The African Union has suspended Guinea-Bissau following this week's coup in the west African country, news agency AFP reports on Friday.
The AU decided "to suspend Guinea-Bissau from its bodies with immediate effect", chairman Mahamoud Ali Youssouf told AFP.
The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) suspended Guinea-Bissau on Thursday from its decision-making bodies in the wake of a military coup that ousted President Umaro Sissoco Embalo, according to a statement.
The decision of the bloc’s Mediation and Security Council (MSC) came after an Extraordinary Virtual Summit of Heads of State and Government held to discuss the current political situation in the country.
Chaired by ECOWAS Chairperson and Sierra Leone’s President Julius Maada Bio, the bloc expressed deep concern over the unfolding political crisis in Guinea-Bissau and urged the country’s armed forces to return to the barracks and maintain their constitutional role.