Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) has strongly condemned a recent outbreak of fighting in Guinea-Bissau.
Gatekeepers News reports that although calmness has been restored on Saturday, clashes between members of the national guard and special forces of the presidential guard broke out Thursday night in the capital Bissau, leaving two dead.
ECOWAS in a statement, “strongly condemns the violence and all attempts to disrupt the constitutional order and rule of law in Guinea-Bissau.
“ECOWAS further calls for the arrest and prosecution of the perpetrators of the incident in accordance with the law.”
Calm returned to the small nation with a history of instability following the announcement that the army had captured commander of the National Guard, Colonel Victor Tchongo on Friday morning.
On Thursday evening, members of the national guard stormed a police station to extract Finance Minister Souleiman Seidi and Secretary of the Treasury Antonio Monteiro, according to army and intelligence officers.
The two government members were being questioned about the withdrawal of $10 million from state accounts. They had been detained under orders of state prosecutors, who are named by the president.
On the other hand, the National Guard is under the control of the Interior Ministry, which like most ministries in the country, is dominated by the PAIGC party, whose coalition won the June 2023 elections.
The two government members were detained again after the army removed them from National Guard control.
President Umaro Sissoco Embalo, who was elected to a five-year term in December 2019, is in Dubai to attend the COP28 climate conference.
Since gaining independence from Portugal in 1974, Guinea-Bissau has seen a series of coups and coup attempts, the most recent being a failed overthrow in February 2022.
