Senior AD Guinean Bissau Officer Arrested For Coup Efforts

PIXABAY'S ILLUSTRATION

JAKARTA - A group of senior Guinea-Bissau army officers were arrested on charges of attempted coup.

Coup and riots have become common in the West African country since independence from Portugal in 1974.

Deputy Chief of Staff of the Armed Forces Mamadou Kourouma explained that General Dahaba Na Walna, Commander of Domingos Nhanke and Mario Midana were among senior armed forces officers arrested on Thursday at their home in the capital Bissau.

He did not give the names of all the arrested officers.

"This is indeed a new effort to overthrow the constitutional order, ahead of the start of the legislative and presidential election campaign on November 23," Kourouma told a news conference.

According to President Umaro Sissoco Embalo, two attempts were made to overthrow him during his term of office, the last in December.

Embalo clashes with political opposition, which states his current five-year term ends at the end of February, while the Supreme Court has ruled that the term of office ends on September 4.

In March, Embalo said he would run for a second term in November, withdrawing his previous promise to step down.