Gunfire had been heard near a ministerial building in Guinea-Bissau where President Umaro Sissoco Embaló and Prime Minister Nuno Gomes Nabiam were having a meeting on Tuesday.
One police officer has been killed in the gunfire in the capital Bissau, according to local media reporting.
The firing though according to residents had now subsided after it was earlier reported that firing took place near the presidential palace.
Military vehicles laden with troops have been driving through the streets of the capital to restore order.
The military and police had gone to the scene where the armed men were firing, following which a police officer was shot.
Soldiers are patrolling the streets of Bissau in military vehicles and some calm has returned.
#Ecowas issues statement on happenings in #Guinea-Bissau. It has condemned the coup attempt and says it holds the military responsible for the President. pic.twitter.com/1Leor6Cq0D
— Isaac Kaledzi (@IsaacKaledzi) February 1, 2022
The current whereabouts of President Umaro Sissoco Embaló and Prime Minister Nuno Gomes Nabiam are unknown, some sources told BBC.
Guinea-Bissau’s Foreign Minister Suzi Barboza told the BBC that she is currently outside the country and awaits news about the president.
The West African nation has a long history of political instability and military coups, the last of which was in 2012.
Nine coups or attempted coups since independence from Portugal in 1974 have taken place in Guinea-Bissau.
Source: Africafeeds.com
