The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) issued a robust condemnation following a recent eruption of conflict in Guinea-Bissau, where the situation has since stabilized.
An altercation between the national guard and the presidential guard’s special forces erupted on Thursday night in the capital city of Bissau, resulting in two casualties.
In a statement from its headquarters in Abuja, ECOWAS expressed firm disapproval of the violence and any actions intended to disrupt Guinea-Bissau’s constitutional order and legal structure.
ECOWAS “strongly condemns the violence and all attempts to disrupt the constitutional order and rule of law in Guinea-Bissau,” the Abuja-based organisation said in a statement.
By mid-morning on Friday, calm had been restored in the country, subsequent to the announcement of Colonel Victor Tchongo, the national guard commander, being apprehended by the army.
Reports from army and intelligence sources indicated that on Thursday evening, national guard members raided a police station to extract Finance Minister Souleiman Seidi and Secretary of the Treasury Antonio Monteiro.
They were being interrogated concerning a $10 million withdrawal from state accounts, as instructed by state prosecutors appointed by the president.
While the Interior Ministry governs the national guard, the majority of ministries in Guinea-Bissau are under the dominance of the PAIGC party, which secured a coalition victory in the June 2023 elections.
Following the army’s intervention, the two government officials were re-apprehended after being removed from the National Guard’s custody.
Meanwhile, President Umaro Sissoco Embalo, elected to a five-year term in December 2019, is currently in Dubai attending the COP28 climate conference.
Guinea-Bissau, since its independence from Portugal in 1974, has experienced a history of coups and attempted coups, with the most recent unsuccessful overthrow occurring in February 2022.
