KIGALI, Rwanda (November 29, 2025) – The African Union (AU) has immediately suspended Guinea-Bissau from all its activities, the latest international rebuke to the small West African nation after a military coup abruptly ended its fragile democratic transition.
The decision was announced Saturday by the AU’s Peace and Security Council following an emergency meeting held on Friday. In a strongly worded communiqué, the Council condemned the November 26 military takeover as an unconstitutional change of government, suspended Guinea-Bissau from all AU organs and activities “with immediate effect,” and demanded the full restoration of constitutional order.
The move came just 48 hours after a group of senior military officers, calling themselves the “High Military Command for the Restoration of National Security and Public Order,” stormed key government buildings in the capital Bissau, seized state television, and declared they had assumed “full powers of the state.” They announced the removal of President Umaro Sissoco Embaló, who was briefly detained before being released and fleeing to neighboring Senegal.
On Thursday, the junta swore in Army Chief of Staff General Horta Inta-A Na Man as transitional president for a one-year period. The following day, Major-General Tomás Djassi was named the new armed forces chief while Ilidio Vieira Te was appointed prime minister.
The coup erupted against the backdrop of a bitterly contested presidential election held on November 23. Both incumbent President Embaló, who was seeking a controversial second term, and his main challenger, independent candidate Fernando Dias da Costa, had prematurely declared victory while the country awaited official results from the National Electoral Commission, originally scheduled for release this week.
Heavy gunfire rang out around the presidential palace and electoral commission headquarters on the afternoon of November 26, sending hundreds of residents fleeing. Soldiers sealed off major roads, imposed a nationwide curfew, briefly closed air and land borders, and temporarily shut down several independent radio stations.
The African Union demanded the immediate and unconditional release of all detained political leaders, electoral officials, magistrates, and journalists. It also called on the military to allow the electoral process to conclude without interference and to respect the will of the Guinea-Bissauan people as expressed at the ballot box.
The AU fully endorsed the decisions already taken by the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) and warned that targeted sanctions would be imposed if the military junta continues to obstruct the political process. The AU Commission was instructed to work closely with ECOWAS, strengthen the existing ECOWAS Stabilization Support Mission in Guinea-Bissau, protect international electoral observers still in the country, and set up a dedicated monitoring mechanism.
ECOWAS had acted even more swiftly. At an emergency virtual summit on November 27, the 15-nation bloc suspended Guinea-Bissau from all its decision-making bodies, demanded the immediate return of soldiers to their barracks, and ordered the resumption of the electoral process. A high-level ECOWAS delegation led by the presidents of Senegal, Sierra Leone, and Cape Verde is scheduled to arrive in Bissau this weekend to engage directly with the military leadership.
United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres strongly condemned the coup, calling it a clear violation of democratic principles and constitutional legality. The UN human rights office reported at least 18 arbitrary arrests, including senior magistrates and opposition figures, many of whom remain held incommunicado.
The European Union, the Community of Portuguese Language Countries (CPLP), and numerous individual governments have issued similar statements rejecting the military takeover and urging a rapid return to civilian rule.
Guinea-Bissau has suffered chronic instability since independence in 1974, experiencing four successful coups, at least sixteen attempted or alleged coups, and repeated periods of military dominance in politics. The country is also notorious as a major transit hub for cocaine trafficking between Latin America and Europe, a factor that has repeatedly undermined governance and fueled corruption.
Despite the deployment of an ECOWAS stabilization mission since 2022 and multiple internationally backed reform initiatives, democratic institutions remain weak. President Embaló himself dissolved parliament twice during his term and ruled by decree for extended periods, moves that opponents described as authoritarian.
As the weekend mediation mission prepares to land in Bissau, the military leadership has given mixed signals: some officers have suggested willingness to negotiate a roadmap back to civilian rule, while others insist the electoral process was irreparably compromised and cannot continue.
Civil society organizations and opposition parties, including the historically dominant PAIGC (which was controversially barred from the recent election), have rejected the coup outright and called for mass demonstrations. Many analysts describe the takeover as a “palace coup” orchestrated by factions close to the former president to maintain influence through proxies after an unfavorable electoral outlook.
For now, the combined weight of AU and ECOWAS suspensions, the threat of targeted sanctions, and the arrival of regional heads of state represent the most concerted international pressure Guinea-Bissau has faced in years. Whether it will be sufficient to break the country’s half-century cycle of military interventions remains uncertain.
