Gunfire heard in Guinea-Bissau condemned as "attempted coup" by ECOWAS
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Heavily armed men surrounded the Palace of Government in Bissau, where they thought the president and the prime minister would be, and fired gunshots.
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People stand near the Guinea-Bissau government palace in Bissau on Tuesday, February 1st. (EPA)
Continuous shots of gunfire were heard on Tuesday near the seat of the government in Guinea-Bissau, according to AFP reporters. The African country is prone to a coup, which the regional bloc condemned as an "attempted coup."
Men who were heavily armed surrounded the Palace of Government in Bissau, where they thought President Umaro Sissoco Embalo would be, in addition to the Prime Minister, Nuno Gomes Nabiam, attending a cabinet meeting.
The scene showed people fleeing the area, while shops, markets, and banks were coming to a close as military vehicles roamed the streets.
Guinea-Bissau, a Portuguese colony formerly, is an impoverished African state with a population of 2 million.
Since gaining independence in 1974, the country has seen 4 military coups. The most recent of them was in 2012.
A Frenchwoman, who rushed to pick up her 2 children from school, weighed in on the events, "They made all the female workers leave. There was huge panic," she told AFP by phone from her home. "Right now, we are holed up indoors. We have no news."
As a response to the series of events, ECOWAS, the Economic Community of West African States, made a statement of condemnation against the "attempted coup," urging soldiers to "return to their barracks."
ECOWAS warned the military that it holds it "responsible for the wellbeing of President Umaro Sissoco Embalo and members of his government."
The Secretary-General of the United Nations, Antonio Guterres, expressed deep concern with the news of heavy fighting in Bissau, calling for "an immediate end to the fighting and for full respect of the country's democratic institutions."
