Military authorities in Guinea-Bissau have lifted the nationwide border shutdown imposed during Wednesday’s power seizure, marking the latest twist in the country’s prolonged political volatility.
General Lansana Mansali, Inspector General of the Armed Forces, confirmed the decision in an interview with AFP, saying “All borders are now open,” effectively reversing the closure of land, air and sea routes announced a day earlier.
The reopening came less than 24 hours after officers claimed full control of the state and halted the electoral process, a development that followed bursts of heavy gunfire around the presidential palace and military personnel blocking access to key government areas.
By Wednesday afternoon, General Denis N’Canha, head of the presidential military office, told journalists that a unified command drawn from all branches of the armed forces had assumed leadership “until further notice.”
He addressed reporters while seated at a table and surrounded by armed soldiers.
Uncertainty deepened amid reports that incumbent president Umaro Sissoco Embalo was inside a building behind military headquarters, “with the chief of staff and the minister of the interior,” according to a senior officer who spoke to AFP anonymously.
There was no immediate confirmation on whether Embalo had been detained.
Tension had escalated after both Embalo and opposition candidate Fernando Dias separately claimed victory in Sunday’s election, even as provisional results were scheduled for release on Thursday.
General N’Canha later alleged that the military had uncovered a plot to plunge the nation into chaos, stating that it involved “national drug lords” and included “the introduction of weapons into the country to alter the constitutional order.”
He also announced the suspension of the electoral process, a halt to media programming and the imposition of a curfew.