President Umaro Embaló of Guinea-Bissau has addressed the media after a coup scare in the West African countries on Tuesday,
President Embaló Speaking to the media, said many members of his own security forces had been killed in what he termed a failed attack against democracy.
He said 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 organized and could be related to people involved in drug trafficking,” he added.
The president’s reaction came hours after soldiers fired heavy gunfire near a government compound where the president had been chairing a cabinet meeting.
There have been at least six coup attempts in African countries since 2020, raising concerned democracy was under threat in the region.
Regional bodies and the United Nations have issued statements condemning the attack by the military in Guinea-Bissau.
- “ECOWAS is following with great concern the evolution of the situation in Guinea-Bissau … where military gunfire is taking place around the Government Palace,” the regional body said in a Tuesday statement.
