The situation once again worsened in Guinea-Bissau, a small country in West Africa, on Wednesday (26 November 2025). There was chaos in the capital Bissau in the afternoon due to the sounds of loud firing and after some time the army announced that it had taken command of the entire country. According to the Army, all election related processes have been stopped immediately and all the international borders of the country have been closed. In this way a military coup took place in Guinea-Bissau.

Suddenly the sound of gunshots started being heard around the Rashtrapati Bhavan in Guinea-Bissau. Soldiers were deployed in the main areas of the city and huge barricades were installed on the roads. Many people started leaving the capital due to fear. Journalists say that the entire area of ​​the Presidential Complex is under army siege and the situation remains very tense.

Where is President Embalo?

The biggest concern is that there is no trace of current President Umaro Sissoko Embalo. Even hours after the army took power, it was not clear whether they were safe or not. Because of this, even more unrest has arisen in the country and people are not able to understand in which direction the political situation of the country will go now.

Clash even before election results come out

Presidential and parliamentary elections were held in the country just a few days before the coup. The official results were to come on Thursday (27 November 2025), but both the ruling party and the opposition had claimed their respective victories. This is the same situation which was seen in the 2019 elections, when there was controversy for months regarding the results. This time the election process was in controversies from the beginning.

The Supreme Court barred the main opposition party PAIGC from contesting the elections, which the opposition called political pressure. President Embalo’s term ended in February, but he refused to step down. This had already raised serious questions on the credibility of the democratic process.

Guinea-Bissau’s old problem

This is not the first time that the army has taken power in Guinea-Bissau. The country has seen political turmoil several times since gaining independence in 1974. Four successful coups and several failed attempts testify to the fact that the political structure here is very weak. Reasons like corruption, poverty, organized crime and drug trafficking have continuously given rise to instability.

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