Guinea Bissau: Army arrests suspects following clashes between security forces
The army in Guinea-Bissau said it had arrested the leader of the security forces unit that led the overnight clashes in the capital, while adding that calm was restored after some hours of unrest.
Gunfire erupted in Bissau during confrontations between members of the National Guard and Presidential Guard special forces throughout Thursday night into Friday morning.
A police source confirmed that the shooting started after heavily armed soldiers stormed a police station to free Finance Minister Suleimane Seidi, arrested earlier that night.
The minister was detained over six million CFA francs ($10,050.25) allegedly disbursed from public coffers without permission, the source said. His whereabouts are currently unknown.
Preisdent Umaro Sissoco Embalo was attending the COP28 in Dubai when the incident happened.
Guinea-Bissau, a small West African country, has been facing political turmoil since 1974, with four coups and several attempted coups experienced over the years.
The recent chaotic situation is coming at a time when coups or attempted coups are sweeping the West Africa subregion, including Gabon, Niger, Mali, Burkina Faso, Guinea, and, last week, Sierra Leone.
More than 20 people were killed as gunmen in the capital, Freetown, attacked military barracks, a prison, and other locations on Sunday, freeing about 2,200 inmates.
The failed coup attempt was condemned by the regional ECOWAS, EU, UK, and US.
