The Economic Community of West African States strongly criticized the outbreak of fighting in Guinea-Bissau on Friday, as it announced that the situation had returned to calm on Saturday.
The capital Bissau witnessed clashes on Thursday night as members of the National Guard and special forces of the Presidential Guard engaged, leading to two casualties.
ECOWAS stated in a statement that it ‘strongly condemns the violence and all attempts to disrupt the constitutional order and rule of law in Guinea-Bissau.’
‘ECOWAS further calls for the arrest and prosecution of the perpetrators of the incident in accordance with the law.’
Calm returned to the small nation with a history of instability by mid-morning Friday following the announcement that the army had captured Colonel Victor Tchongo, commander of the National Guard.
Members of the National Guard Thursday evening stormed a police station to extract Finance Minister Souleiman Seidi and Secretary of the Treasury Antonio Monteiro, according to army and intelligence officers.
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State prosecutors, appointed by the president, ordered the detention of two government members who were being questioned about the withdrawal of $10 million from state accounts.
Unlike the presidential guard, the National Guard operates under the jurisdiction of the Interior Ministry, which, similar to most ministries in the country, is led by the PAIGC party.
This coalition secured success in the June 2023 elections. After being taken out of National Guard control by the army, the two government members found themselves detained once again.
President Umaro Sissoco Embalo, who secured a five-year term in December 2019, is in Dubai to attend the COP28 climate conference.
Since its independence from Portugal in 1974, Guinea-Bissau has experienced a series of coups and attempted coups, the most recent being an unsuccessful overthrow in February 2022.