Ousted Guinea-Bissau president Umaro Sissoco Embaló arrived in Brazzaville, the capital of the Republic of Congo, on Saturday, several days after the military deposed him, according to Congolese government sources. The military seized power on Wednesday, one day before provisional election results were expected, and Embaló initially fled to neighbouring Senegal. A senior Congolese government source said he arrived late in the morning aboard a private jet. A presidency official in Congo-Brazzaville said Embaló, who had already claimed victory in the election, intends to remain in the country. He is widely believed to have close ties with President Denis Sassou Nguesso and has made multiple visits to Congo in recent years.
In Bissau, tensions continued to escalate. The opposition African Party for the Independence of Guinea and Cape Verde (PAIGC) said its headquarters had been “illegally invaded by heavily armed militia groups.” Clashes also broke out between young people and security forces in another part of the city, near the headquarters of opposition candidate Fernando Dias, who was arrested on the day of the coup.
Questions continue to swirl around the motives behind the takeover. The military claims it intervened to prevent the country from being destabilised by drug-trafficking networks, alleging a threat from “drug barons.” Opposition figures and some analysts, however, believe Embaló may have supported or orchestrated the coup himself to disrupt the electoral process. Those suspicions grew when the junta appointed General Horta N’Tam, considered an ally of Embaló, to lead a transitional government expected to last a year.
Some political researchers say a high-level battle for control of cocaine trafficking routes may also have contributed to the instability. Guinea-Bissau has long been a transit hub for Latin American cocaine headed to Europe, earning it a reputation as a “narco-state,” with senior politicians and military officers suspected of involvement in the trade.
Guinea-Bissau, one of the world’s poorest countries, has suffered repeated political upheavals since independence from Portugal in 1974, including four previous coups and numerous attempted takeovers. It now joins Burkina Faso, Mali, Madagascar, Niger and Sudan on the list of African Union–suspended states following coups.
