President Umaro Embaló of Guinea-Bissau has said that there was an attempt to kill him, the Prime Minister and the entire cabinet, noting that it was more than a coup to take power.
SaharaReporters on Tuesday that heavy gunfire was heard in the capital of Guinea-Bissau near a government compound, where a cabinet meeting was being held.
President Umaro while addressing the media after the coup scare said many members of his own security forces had been killed in what he termed a failed attack against democracy.
He affirmed that some of the perpetrators had been arrested.
“It wasn’t just a coup,” he said. “It was an attempt to kill the president, the prime minister and the entire cabinet.”
“Armed attackers tried to enter the building but were repelled. They were well prepared and organised and could be related to people involved in drug trafficking,” he added.
Political instability has blighted the country for decades. Nine coups or attempted coups since independence from Portugal in 1974 have hobbled efforts to pull the economy beyond its reliance on the export of cashew nuts.
Similarly, there was recently a coup d’état in Mali which began on the night of May 24, 2021 when the Malian Army led by Vice President Assimi Goïta, captured President Bah N’daw, Prime Minister Moctar Ouane and Minister of Defence Souleymane Doucouré.
Also, a coup d’état was launched in Burkina Faso on January 23, 2022. Gunfire erupted in front of the presidential residence in the Burkinabé capital, Ouagadougou and several military barracks around the city.
Soldiers were reported to have seized control of the military base in the capital.
