Guinea-Bissau’s President Umaro Sissoco Embalo has left the country for Senegal after being detained during a military coup, the government in Dakar said on Thursday, as a lead opponent accused him of arranging the uprising.
The military in volatile Guinea-Bissau earlier appointed a general as the country’s new leader, a day after seizing power and derailing the announcement of election results.
Opposition candidate Fernando Dias da Costa told Agence France-Presse he believed he had won Sunday’s election and alleged Embalo – who has also claimed victory – had “organised” the power grab to prevent him taking office.
Sandwiched between Guinea and Senegal, Guinea-Bissau has experienced four coups since independence from Portugal in 1974, as well as multiple attempted coups. Its election results were often contested.
Embalo arrived in Senegal on a military plane chartered by its government, the country’s foreign ministry said in a statement.