The toppled Guinean President arrives in Senegal after mediation with Guinea-Bissau coup plotters
Senegal announced on Thursday evening that Guinean President Amr Sissoko Embalo arrived in the country safely following mediation with the military that ousted him on Wednesday.
The Senegalese Foreign Ministry said in a statement that the country’s government had directed a plane to Bissau with the aim of evacuating Sissoko, adding that its mediation also enabled the release of some of Embalo’s comrades, all other detained political actors, in addition to the reopening of the crossings to facilitate the evacuation and repatriation of nationals, including members of the various election observation missions that took place in the country last Sunday.
“Since the beginning of the crisis in Guinea, the Senegalese authorities, under the direct direction of president Bassirou Diomaye Faye, have been in constant contact with all relevant Guinean actors,” the ministry said.
The Senegalese government reiterated its readiness to work alongside ECOWAS, the African Union and all relevant partners, reiterating its commitment to resolving the crisis, consolidating stability and speedy restoration of constitutional order and democratic legitimacy in this brotherly country.
Senegal’s announcement of the evacuation of Guinea’s President Albessau came hours after the commander of the ground forces, General Horta N’Tam, was sworn in as the country’s transitional president for a year.
The military turned against Sissoko Embalo while the Guinean Bisao waited for the official announcement of the results of the presidential and legislative elections.
It’s the fifth coup in the history of Guinea-Bissau since independence from Portugal in 1974, and the country, where 40% of the population lives below the poverty line, has seen several coup attempts.
