ECOWAS, the regional bloc promoting political and economic co-operation in West Africa, has condemned what it calls an “attempted coup” in Guinea-Bissau, and is urging the military to return to its barracks.
It follow reports of men in civilian clothing opening fire close to a government building hosting a meeting between the president and prime minister of Guinea-Bissau, whose whereabouts remain unknown.
“Ecowas is following with great concern the evolution of the situation in Guinea-Bissau… where military gunfire is taking place around the government palace,” Reuters quotes the statement as saying.
“Ecowas condemns this attempted coup and holds the military responsible for the safety of President Umaro Sissoco Embaló and members of his government.”
In recent days Ecowas suspended another of its members, Burkina Faso, where the military mounted a putsch.
‘I’m waiting for news of the president’ – G-Bissau’s Foreign Minister
Guinea-Bissau’s Foreign Minister Suzi Barboza has told the BBC she is currently abroad and is waiting for news about the president.
There has been no official word on the whereabouts of the president and prime minister, who had been holding a meeting when gunshots where fired in their vicinity at a government building in the capital, Bissau, on Tuesday afternoon.
Schools and offices have closed as a precaution, and the military has been deployed to a number of government buildings.
President Umaro Sissoco Embaló, himself a former prime minister, was elected to top office in 2020 after winning a run-off vote against another ex-prime minister.
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