“Calm returns to Bissau!” said the President of Guinea Bissau General Umaro El Mokhtar Sissoco Embalo as he announced on social media his resistance to a coup this Tuesday, February 1, 2022, before holding an urgent press conference this evening in his palace.
“I’m fine, the situation has been brought under control,” the Bissau-Guinean Head of State told reporters. According to him, the shooting, sustained, had lasted 5 hours and there were “a lot of dead”. “They are the work of isolated elements,” added the former soldier, without giving any details about the attackers.
Embalo also said that he believes that it is his commitment to the fight against corruption and drug trafficking that is behind this coup attempt.
Gunfire erupted near a government building in Bissau where President Umaro Sissoko Embaló was attending a cabinet meeting. The situation was the subject of various condemnations from the international community on Tuesday.
Embalo is a former military officer who previously served as Prime Minister between November 18, 2016 and January 16, 2018. The 49-year-old came to power on February 27, 2020.
Source AfrikPage