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Guinea-Bissau's deposed president Umaro Sissoco Embalo arrived in the Republic of Congo on Saturday, relocating to Brazzaville after being overthrown in a military coup earlier this week that plunged the impoverished West African nation into its latest bout of political turmoil.
Embalo landed in the Congolese capital late Saturday morning aboard a private jet, according to government sources in Brazzaville who spoke on condition of anonymity. The ousted leader, who had claimed victory in national elections, intends to remain in Congo-Brazzaville rather than return to his home country, a presidency source confirmed.
The Guinea-Bissau military declared it had taken "total control" of the country on Wednesday, just one day before provisional results from national elections were scheduled to be announced. The abrupt seizure of power interrupted the electoral process and forced Embalo to flee the country, initially seeking refuge in neighboring Senegal before continuing to Congo.
The circumstances surrounding the coup remain murky, with various theories circulating about who orchestrated the takeover and why. Among the speculation is the possibility that the military acted with Embalo's own approval, though no concrete evidence has emerged to support any particular explanation for the power grab.
The latest upheaval extends Guinea-Bissau's decades-long record of political instability. Since gaining independence from Portugal in 1974, the small nation wedged between Senegal and Guinea has endured four successful coups along with numerous failed takeover attempts.
The country ranks among the poorest in the world, struggling with chronic underdevelopment and weak institutions that have made it vulnerable to repeated military interventions in civilian governance.
Guinea-Bissau now joins a growing roster of African nations suspended from the African Union following military coups. The list includes Burkina Faso, Mali, Madagascar, Niger and Sudan, all of which have experienced unconstitutional changes of government in recent years that violated the continental body's democratic governance standards.
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