The African Union (AU) expressed its concern on Tuesday about the dissolution of the Parliament of Guinea-Bissau and strongly condemned the violence recorded in recent days in the country.
On Thursday night and Friday morning, clashes between the National Guard and the Army left at least two dead in the capital, Bissau, and were described as an “attempted coup d’état” by the president of Guinea-Bissau, Umaro. Sissoco Packed. who decided to dissolve parliament.
Moussa Faki Mahamat, president of the AU Commission, “strongly condemned the recent violence in Guinea-Bissau”, while “noting with concern the dissolution” of Parliament, according to a statement published on the social network X (formerly Twitter) .
The AU Commission chairman also called on the government and stakeholders to “prioritize dialogue.”
Umaro Sissoco Embaló decided on Monday to dissolve Parliament, after clashes between the National Guard and members of the Presidential Palace battalion, which he considered a coup d’état.
The President of the Republic made the decision after a meeting of the Council of State.
Sissoco Embaló considered “a coup d’état” the fact that the National Guard removed the Minister of Finance, Suleimane Seidi, and the Secretary of State for the Treasury, António Monteiro, from the cells of the Judicial Police on Thursday night, detained for an alleged case of corruption.
As a result of this event, armed confrontations occurred between the National Guard and the Presidency battalion, which were resolved with the intervention of the Military Police and which culminated in the arrest of the commander of the National Guard, Vitor Tchongo.
Immediately after the announcement by the President of the Republic, a strong military presence was observed in the streets in the city of Bissau, which was no longer visible at night.
Guinea-Bissau, a Portuguese-speaking country with a population of two million, is one of the poorest in the world and is considered one of the most corrupt countries in the world.
Since its independence from Portugal in 1974, the country has gone through periods of instability marked by coup attempts.
In February 2022, Sissoco Embaló escaped a coup d’état, which he presented as an attempted coup d’état directly linked to drug trafficking.
Source: TSF
