A group of military officers say they have seized control of Guinea-Bissau amid reports that the president, Umaro Sissoco Embaló, has been arrested.
Shortly after gunshots were heard in the capital, Bissau, government sources told the BBC that Embaló had been detained.
The officers then appeared on state TV, saying they had suspended the electoral process, as the West African nation awaited the outcome of Sunday’s presidential election.
They said they were acting to thwart a plot by unnamed politicians who had the support of a well-known drug baron to destabilise the country, and announced the closure of its borders and imposed a night-time curfew.
Sandwiched between Senegal and Guinea, the coup-prone country is known as a notorious drug-trafficking hub where the military has been influential since independence from Portugal in 1974.
The election results were expected on Thursday - both Embaló and his closest rival Fernando Dias claimed victory.
Late on Wednesday afternoon, Embaló told France 24 in a phone call: I have been deposed.
Government sources have since told the BBC that Dias, Pereira and Interior Minister Botché Candé have also been detained.
The putschists have taken army chief Gen Biague Na Ntan and his deputy, Gen Mamadou Touré, into custody too, the sources say.
Witnesses in Bissau heard gunfire earlier on, but it was not immediately clear who was involved in the shooting or if there were any casualties.
Hundreds of people fled, seeking shelter as shots rang out.
Portugal has called for a return to constitutional order, urging all those involved to refrain from any act of institutional or civic violence.
The former Portuguese colony has witnessed at least nine coups or attempted coups over the last five decades.
Embaló has said he has survived multiple coup attempts during his time in office. However, his critics allege he has fabricated crises to crack down on dissent.
The 53-year-old had wanted to make history as the country’s only president to secure a second consecutive mandate in the last 30 years, questioning his legitimacy amidst claims the term had officially ended in February 2025.
Guinea-Bissau is one of the poorest countries in the world, with a population of over two million, and it has been labeled a narco-state due to its role as a key transit point for cocaine from Latin America to Europe.
