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.
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186 Articles
The Guinea-Bissau military announced Wednesday that they had taken "the total control of the country", arrested the presidents in the exercise and suspended the electoral process while the country expected the results of the very presidential and parliamentary elections...
Guinea-Bissau: The military claims it acted on the discovery of a malicious plan to destabilize the country, “devised by some…
A few days after the election in Guinea-Bissau, the military took power in the West African country, according to its own statements. A group of officers on state television announced that President Embaló had been deposed, subjected to the electoral process and that all borders had been closed.
Guinea-Bissau: Military seizes power as president Umaro Sissoco Embalo 'deposed and arrested'
The military said it was suspending the electoral process and media activities and closing borders after discovering a plot to "manipulate electoral results" aided by politicians, a drug lord, and foreigners.
Military members also announced this Wednesday that they had taken "total control of the country" and arrested the outgoing president.
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