In a swift reaction to what it described as ‘attempted coup’, the West African bloc ECOWAS has condemned in strong terms and blamed the country’s military for the wellbeing of President Umaro Sissoco Embalo and members of his government.
United Nations chief Antonio Guterres also called for an immediate end to fighting in the coup-prone West African state and called for full respect for the country’s democratic institutions.
The country has suffered four military coup d’état since gaining independence in 1974, most recently in 2012.
In 2014, the country vowed to return to constitutional government, but there has been little stability since then and the armed forces wield substantial advantage.
ECOWAS added that it is “… following with great concern the evolution of the situation in Guinea-Bissau…where military gunfire is taking place around the government palace.”
“ECOWAS condemns this attempted coup and holds the military responsible for the safety of President Umaro Sissoco Embalo and members of his government.”
Guinea-Bissau’s Foreign Minister Suzi Barboza newsmen that 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 were fired in their vicinity at a government building in the capital, Bissau, on Tuesday afternoon.