Guinea-Bissau’s military appoints General Horta N’Tam as new leader for one year following coup that arrested the president and suspended elections
BISSAU: Guinea-Bissau’s military has appointed General Horta N’Tam as the country’s new leader for one year following Wednesday’s coup.
The army chief of staff was sworn in during a ceremony at military headquarters on Thursday, a day after soldiers seized power and arrested President Umaro Sissoco Embalo.
General N’Tam declared he had been sworn in to lead the High Command before dozens of heavily armed soldiers.
He told a press conference that actions were necessary to block operations threatening democracy.
Officers had announced total control of the coup-prone nation on Wednesday, suspending the electoral process as the country awaited Sunday’s presidential election results.
President Embalo had been expected to win the vote according to pre-coup assessments.
N’Tam stated evidence was sufficient to justify the operation and that necessary measures required everyone’s participation.
General Denis N’Canha had earlier claimed the military uncovered a plan involving drug lords and weapons introduction to alter constitutional order.
The military suspended all media programming and imposed a mandatory curfew alongside halting the electoral process.
All borders were temporarily closed following the coup but were reopened on Thursday according to General Lassana Mansali.
Embalo remains detained at general-staff headquarters where he is reportedly being well-treated.
The chief of staff and interior minister were also arrested according to military sources.
Opposition leader Domingos Simoes Pereira, barred from the election by the Supreme Court, was additionally detained.
ECOWAS chair unequivocally condemned the coup and recalled the body’s zero-tolerance for unconstitutional government changes.
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres expressed deep concern about the situation.
Portugal discouraged any act of institutional or civic violence in its former colony.
Reporters Without Borders condemned the media suspension as a serious violation of the right to information.
Guinea-Bissau has experienced four coups since independence from Portugal in 1974, plus multiple attempted takeovers.
The west African region has seen several coups recently in Mali, Burkina Faso, Niger and Guinea. – AFP
