ECOWAS breaks silence on disruption of constitutional order in Guinea Bissau

The regional Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) on Saturday condemned the chaotic situation that erupted in Guinea Bissau late Thursday until the early hours of Friday.

The West African group said this in a statement issued by the ECOWAS Parliament in Abuja, Nigeria’s capital.

It stated that the community learnt with deep preoccupation, the violence that erupted in Guinea Bissau in the early hours of Friday.

The body called on the government of the West African country to arrest and prosecute the perpetrators of the incident in accordance with the law.

Also, ECOWAS expressed its full solidarity with the people of that country and the constitutional authority of Guinea Bissau.

Gunfire erupted in Bissau, the capital, 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 $10,000 allegedly disbursed from the public wallet without permission.

The West African country has witnessed political chaos since 1974, with four coups and several attempted coups experienced over the years.

The latest political turbulence 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.