Guinea Bissau.webp
The Digest:

Military officers in Guinea-Bissau have declared "total control" of the country, a sudden shift from ballot boxes to barracks that suspends democratic processes in a nation all too familiar with the sound of gunfire overturning the will of the people, revealing the fragile line between order and upheaval.

Key Points:
  • Military officers announced "total control" of Guinea-Bissau on Wednesday
  • The electoral process has been suspended, and borders closed
  • Gunfire was reported near the presidential palace in the capital, Bissau
  • Soldiers took over the main roads leading to key government buildings
  • The announcement was made at the army headquarters in Bissau
  • This comes three days after the legislative and presidential elections
  • Guinea-Bissau has experienced multiple coups since its independence
In a region where democracy often struggles to take root, the sound of gunfire near a presidential palace remains a grimly familiar signal that the people's voice has once again been silenced by force.

Sources: AFP, The Guardian