A barrage of gunfire near the presidential palace in Guinea-Bissau was heard on Tuesday in the capital, Bissau at the precinct of a cabinet meeting. The cause or import of the heavy gunshot is not clear at the moment.
Military sources said people inside the presidential palace had been hit by the gunfire. A second source said two people were dead, but it was unclear if they were security forces or those who launched the attack.
With nine coups or attempted coups since independence from Portugal in 1974, political instability has rocked the country for decades. This has hitched efforts to pull the economy beyond its reliance on the export of cashew nuts.
In August 2021, the United States announced a $5 million reward for the arrest of Guinea-Bissau’s former coup leader Antonio Indjai. He is wanted for his alleged role in a drug deal linked to Colombian Farc guerrillas. On April 13, 2012, General Antonio Indjai, who was a former chief of staff seized control of Guinea Bissau in a coup that disrupted the electoral process two weeks before the presidential runoff.