US EditionMilitary Seizes Power in Guinea-Bissau, Arrests President
- On Wednesday, November 26, 2025, army officers said they had seized power and announced the takeover on state television, while outgoing President Umaro Sissoco Embaló was arrested, government sources reported.
- A disputed presidential contest in which both main contenders claimed victory prompted the context for the takeover, which came three days after the national elections and one day before provisional results were due.
- Witnesses in Bissau said roads to the palace were closed and armed checkpoints appeared, gunfire at around 13:00 GMT near the electoral commission headquarters forced hundreds to flee, and fighting stopped by 1400 GMT, a Reuters journalist said.
- Suspending the vote count, the military closed the country's borders and declared control, announcing it suspended the electoral process and formed the High Military Command for the Restoration of Order.
- The takeover fits a pattern in a country that has experienced multiple coups since 1980, with nine coups or attempted coups and recent attempts against Embaló including one in December 2023 in Guinea-Bissau, a nation with a population just under two million.
93 Articles
93 Articles
In Guinea-Bissau, the military abruptly claimed power on Wednesday, halting the electoral process and closing its borders. Gunfire erupted near the presidential palace in the capital, Bissau, sending citizens into panic. The whereabouts of President Umaro Sissoko Embalo remain unknown. The situation has worsened following the recent disputed elections.
A few days after an election, events in Guinea-Bissau in West Africa are overturning. A group of military officers now wants to have taken over power.
The calm of the presidential and legislative elections held last Sunday lasted until the military officers of Guinea-Bissau declared that they had taken “total control” of the country. Guinea-Bissau military officers announced on Wednesday that President Umaro Sissoco Embaló was deposed and that all State institutions were suspended until further notice, claiming the need to “clarify the situation” before returning to constitutional order. Earli…
DECRYPTAGE - The putsch intervenes as the country awaits the result of the presidential election in which Umaro Sissoco Embaló was represented on Sunday.
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