Guinea-Bissau President: “I have been deposed”

Military commanders in Guinea-Bissau say they have taken full control of the country, following reports of gunfire in the capital, Bissau.

President Umaro Sissoco Embaló confirms in a telephone interview with the television channel France 24 that he has been deposed.

In a televised statement, the generals announced that they were canceling the process surrounding Sunday’s election and that they would govern the country until further notice. They also said they had closed the country’s borders.

Parliamentary and presidential elections were held in the small West African nation on Sunday. Afterwards, both incumbent President Umaro Sissoco Embaló and challenger Fernando Dias declared victory, contributing to growing unrest in the country, which has suffered a number of coups in recent years.

Rumors of a coup d’état began circulating on Wednesday afternoon when gunfire was heard around the presidential palace in the capital Bissau. Shortly afterwards, Embaló was also reportedly taken into custody.

The president said in a telephone interview with France 24 on Wednesday that he “has been deposed.” He added that he could not comment further because he risks having his phone confiscated.

However, he says that he is at the General Staff headquarters.

A military source told the AFP news agency that the president had been arrested and that he had been “treated well.”

Opposition leader Domingos Simões Pereira, who was stopped from participating in Sunday’s election after a Supreme Court decision and instead supported Fernando Dias’ candidacy, has also been arrested, according to sources to the news agency.

In their televised statement, the generals claim that they have discovered plans to destabilize the country with the help of drug lords and through the importation of weapons.

Guinea-Bissau is one of the world’s poorest countries and has been exploited as a transit country for drug trafficking between Latin America and Europe. Crime has been facilitated by the country’s long history of political instability.