Guinea-Bissau’s ousted president Umaro Sissoco Embalo has arrived in Congo-Brazzaville after a military coup, as the opposition alleges its headquarters was “invaded” by armed militias amid growing suspicions that the takeover may have been orchestrated from within.
Guinea-Bissau’s deposed president Umaro Sissoco Embalo arrived in Brazzaville on Saturday on a private jet, according to Congolese government sources, days after the military seized power ahead of the provisional election results. While Embalo, who “claimed victory in the election,” settles in Congo-Brazzaville, where he is believed to have close ties, tension deepened back home as the opposition PAIGC said its headquarters had been “illegally invaded by heavily armed militia groups.”
The junta justified its takeover by alleging a plot by drug barons to destabilise the country, but opposition figures and analysts suspect Embalo may have orchestrated the coup, especially after General Horta N’Tam, viewed as his ally, was named transitional leader. With clashes erupting in Bissau and experts pointing to rivalries over the nation’s lucrative cocaine-trafficking routes, the crisis has reinforced Guinea-Bissau’s reputation as a “narco-state” and adds to its long history of coups and political turmoil.