Military officers in Guinea Bissau announced on Wednesday that they had taken full control of the country.
They also suspended the electoral process and ordered the immediate closure of national borders. This occurred 72 hours after legislative and presidential elections in the troubled West African state.
The officers described the takeover as “total control”, citing unrest in the nation weighed down by poverty and recurring military interventions.
Military personnel made the announcement by reading a statement at army headquarters in the capital, Bissau, AFP journalists observed on the scene.
Earlier in the day, residents and political watchers reported heavy gunfire near the country’s Presidential Palace, triggering widespread fear in Bissau, the nation’s capital.
Men believed to be military operatives, dressed in army uniforms, barricaded and seized the main road leading to the palace, restricting movement and sending civilians scrambling for safety.
Guinea Bissau has a long history of political instability and military coups, often referred to as one of West Africa’s most coup-prone nations, a reputation it has struggled to shake.
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