Coup in Guinea-Bissau: General Horta N’Tam sworn in as “president of the transition”
Story by France 24
General Horta N’Tam was sworn in on Thursday, November, as president of the transition and of the High Military Command to lead Guinea-Bissau for one year, the military officers who staged a coup the day before announced during a press conference in Bissau.
“I have just been sworn in to lead the High Command,” said General Horta N’Tam, after taking the oath of office during a ceremony at the headquarters, where security was heavily reinforced, AFP journalists observed.
Dozens of heavily armed soldiers have been deployed to the scene.
The military officers who seized power also announced to AFP the reopening of borders. “All borders are open now,” General Lassana Mansali, Inspector General of the Armed Forces, told AFP a few minutes after General Horta N’Tam was appointed head of the junta.
The capital, Bissau, was relatively calm on Thursday, with soldiers deployed in the streets and many residents preferring to stay home, even after the nighttime curfew was lifted. Shops and banks remained closed.
ECOWAS Condemnation
The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) strongly condemned the coup in Guinea-Bissau on Thursday, three days after presidential and legislative elections, calling it a “direct threat to the stability of the country and the region.”
Located between Senegal and Guinea (Conakry), Guinea-Bissau has already experienced four coups d’état and a host of attempted coups since its independence in 1974. The proclamation of election results has thus often given rise to protest movements in this country
