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Coup: President Embalo Back in Guinea-Bissau, Anti-Coup Protests Today

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Guinea-Bissau  President, Umaro Sissi Embalo
Guinea-Bissau  President, Umaro Sissi Embalo

 

Abubakar Hashim

 

Exiled Guinea-Bissau President Umaro Sissi Embalo, who fled the country, first to Senegal, then to Congo, and to Morocco, sneaked back into the country, in hiding, a confidential diplomatic source revealed.

An anti-coup protest is planned today by a consortium of civil society organisations, demanding the immediate proclamation of results, widely believed to have been won by the leading opposition candidate, Fernando Dias, who is in protective custody in the Nigerian Embassy in Bissau for the safety of his life.

The election results were carted away from the National Election Office by the military officerss, along with sensitive materials like computers and servers, in announcement of the coup on November 26, 2025.

Gen Horta Inta-A
Gen Horta Inta-A

The military junta and the 28 cabinet members are all Embalo’s allies. The junta leader, now transitional president, Gen Horta Inta-A, was Embalo’s army chief, and the new Prime Minister, Lidio Viera Te, was his campaign Director in the November 23 elections.

Embalo was first evacuated to Senegal, but Prime Minister Ousmane Sonko frowned at President Faye’s decision to grant him exile, causing a rift between them. He was then flown to Congo, where again a stir in the government erupted, and then later flown to Morocco, from where he returned to Bissau.

Guinea-Bissau opposition candidate, Fernando Dias2
Guinea-Bissau opposition candidate, Fernando Dias

ECOWAS has already deployed a 500-member “Stabilisation Mission” to Bissau.

ECOWAS Heads of State and Government will meet in Abuja on Sunday, December 14, 2025, preceded by a ministerial conference yesterday

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