The coup reduces the number of ECOWAS member states to eleven, down from twelve, which include Benin, Cabo Verde, Côte d’Ivoire, The Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Liberia, Nigeria, Senegal, Sierra Leone, and Togo.
In an exclusive phone call with FRANCE 24, Guinea-Bissau’s President Umaro Sissoco Embalo confirmed he had been deposed.
“I have been deposed,” Embalo said, adding that he could not speak further without risking his phone being confiscated. The president, who was removed from office, said he was “currently at the general staff headquarters.”
The coup extended to senior government and military officials. According to FRANCE 24, the list of arrested top military officers include Chief of Staff of the Armed Forces, General Biague Na Ntan, the Deputy Chief of Staff, General Mamadou Toure, and Interior Minister Botche Cande.
The coup comes just three days after a highly contested presidential election in which the main opposition candidate was disqualified.
Both Embaló and his closest rival, Fernando Dias, had claimed victory ahead of official results, heightening political tension in a nation with a long history of military interference.
Witnesses told AFP that gunfire rang out across key areas of the city, creating chaos as civilians abandoned homes and vehicles clogged the streets.
ECOWAS faces a mounting regional test
Hours after the unrest, military officers appeared on state television to announce the formation of the “High Military Command for the Restoration of Order,” declaring they would govern until further notice.
The soldiers urged citizens to “remain calm,” but provided no roadmap for a return to civilian rule.
Guinea-Bissau, with a population of under two million, has endured nine coups or attempted coups since 1980, including two attempts to remove Embaló, the most recent in December 2023.
The coup comes as ECOWAS continues to navigate the complex challenges posed by the Alliance of Sahel States (AES), whose recent separation from the bloc has already tested the body’s diplomatic and sanctions mechanisms.
How the regional bloc responds will be critical in maintaining its credibility in defending constitutional governance across West Africa.
Africa’s coup problem
In the years following 2000, Africa experienced a noticeable decline in military interventions, with coups becoming relatively rare.
That trend has shifted sharply in recent years. According to a BBC report, 2020 saw just one coup, in Mali, but by 2021, five countries which include Chad, Mali, Guinea, Sudan, and Niger faced military interventions.
The pattern continued in 2022, with another five attempts, two of which in Burkina Faso successfully overthrew the government.
The resurgence of coups highlights Africa’s enduring vulnerability to unconstitutional power grabs.
Of the 18 coups recorded globally since 2017, all but one – Myanmar in 2021 have occurred on the continent, revealing the persistent fragility of political institutions and the influence of military actors in the continent.
