Guinea-Bissau military announces reopening of borders after seizing power

Military authorities in Guinea-Bissau have announced the reopening of the country’s borders, one day after seizing power and disrupting the electoral process in the coup-prone West African nation.

“All borders are now open,” General Lansana Mansali, Inspector General of the Armed Forces, told AFP, reversing Wednesday’s closure of all land, air, and sea entry points.

THE PRIME NEWS had reported that military officers in Guinea-Bissau on Wednesday declared “total control” of the coup-prone West African country, closing its borders and suspending its electoral process three days after general elections.

Their announcement followed heavy gunfire that rang out near the presidential palace earlier in the day, with men in military uniform taking over the main road leading to the building.

In the early afternoon, General Denis N’Canha, head of the presidential military office, told members of the press that a command “composed of all branches of the armed forces, was taking over the leadership of the country until further notice”.

He read the announcement seated at a table and surrounded by armed soldiers.

Incumbent president Umaro Sissoco Embalo, who had been favoured to win Sunday’s election, was inside a building behind military headquarters, “with the chief of staff and the minister of the interior,” a senior officer told AFP on condition of anonymity.

It was not immediately possible to confirm whether the president had been arrested.

Embalo and opposition candidate Fernando Dias had already each declared victory in the presidential race, with official provisional results expected Thursday.

The tumultuous West African country has experienced four coups since independence, as well as multiple attempted coups.

N’Canha, in his declaration, claimed to have uncovered a plan to destabilise the country “involving national drug lords” that had included “the introduction of weapons into the country to alter the constitutional order”.

In addition to halting “the entire electoral process”, he said military forces had suspended “all media programming” and imposed a mandatory curfew.

Guinea-Bissau is among the world’s poorest countries and is also a hub for drug trafficking between Latin America and Europe, a trade facilitated by the country’s long history of political instability.