AMIDST fears of a coup attempt, at least one person is said to have been killed in the capital of Guinea-Bissau, in West Africa.
Gunshots rang out near a Bissau government building where President Umaro Cissoko Embaló was expected to attend a cabinet meeting.
The president and his ministers are said to have been detained by soldiers.
Regional authorities in West Africa denounced the coup attempt and asked troops to return to their barracks.
However, since 1980, the former Portuguese colony has had nine coups or attempted coups, making it one of the poorest countries on the planet.
If confirmed, this will be the seventh military coup in the region of West and Central Africa in the last year as Burkina Faso still experienced a coup just last week.
With a vast foreign debt and an economy reliant on foreign help, the country has also become a transhipment site for Latin American drugs, earning it the labelled “Africa’s first narco-state” by some.
Mr Embaló won the presidential election in December 2019, but faced a last-minute stalemate with parliament before assuming office in February 2020.
According to a reporter, unidentified heavily armed gunmen stormed the government palace while President Embaló was visiting Prime Minister Nuno Gomes Nabiam inside.
Two people had been killed, he said, and the president and all members of the government were still inside the palace “in the hands of” the attackers, according to “reliable reports.”
According to a security source who did not want to be identified, gunmen dressed in civilian clothing opened fire, killing a police officer.
The military had recovered control of the situation, which he described as “calm,” but he added that the president and prime minister’s whereabouts were still unknown.
Speaking on the situation, the West African regional group ECOWAS condemned the incident, maintaining that it held “the military responsible for the safety of President Umaro Sissoco Embaló and members of his government.”
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