Political Turmoil: Guinea-Bissau President Flees to Senegal After Coup

Fri Nov 28 2025 14:47:02 GMT+0200 (Eastern European Standard Time)

Amid escalating tensions in Guinea-Bissau, President Umaro Sissoco Embaló has fled to Senegal after being deposed by military forces. This coup raises concerns over the stability and future governance of the coup-prone nation.

Guinea-Bissau's President Umaro Sissoco Embaló has fled to Senegal following a military coup that saw the suspension of the electoral process just before the results of the presidential election were supposed to be announced. The coup leaders have installed Gen Horta N'Tam as the new transitional leader for a year, amid allegations of a plot involving drug trafficking to destabilize the country. The situation remains tense as civil unrest and political instability continue to loom over Guinea-Bissau.

Guinea-Bissau's deposed President Umaro Sissoco Embaló has arrived in neighbouring Senegal following his release by military forces that toppled his government this week, Senegal's authorities have announced.

It follows negotiations by the regional West African bloc Ecowas to secure his transfer amid rising tensions in Guinea-Bissau.

Senegal's foreign ministry said in a statement that Embaló had landed in the country safe and sound on a chartered military flight late on Thursday.

The military in Guinea-Bissau has already sworn in a new transitional leader, Gen Horta N'Tam, who will rule the coup-prone country for a year.

Wednesday's coup came a day before authorities were due to announce the provisional results of a presidential and parliamentary election.

The military has suspended the electoral process and blocked the release of the results. It said it was acting to thwart a plot by unnamed politicians who had the support of a well-known drug baron to destabilise the country, and imposed a night-time curfew.

Sandwiched between Senegal and Guinea, the coup-prone country is known as a drug-trafficking hub where the military has been influential since it gained independence from Portugal in 1974.

Both Embaló and his closest rival Fernando Dias had claimed victory in Sunday's presidential poll. Dias was supported by former Prime Minister Domingos Pereira, who had been disqualified from running.

Government sources earlier told the BBC that Dias, Pereira and Interior Minister Botché Candé had also been detained.

The military junta has banned public protests and all disturbing actions of peace and stability in the country. Tension remained high in the capital, Bissau, on Thursday, with most shops and markets closed as soldiers patrolled the streets.

Ecowas leaders have suspended Guinea-Bissau from all decision-making organs until constitutional order is restored, calling the military's actions a grave violation of the constitutional order.

The African Union (AU) has also condemned the coup. UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres expressed deep concern about the situation, urging for an immediate restoration of constitutional order. Guinea-Bissau has witnessed at least nine coups or attempted coups over the last five decades.