The Supreme Military Command to Restore National Security and Public Order, as the military junta that carried out the coup in Guinea Bissau calls itself, on Thursday (11/27/2025) ordered telecommunications companies operating in the country to temporarily suspend access to some digital platforms throughout the national territory, they confirmed to the local newspaper. Dear GB Democrat Sector sources
According to these sources, who in turn cited military sources, this measure seeks to reduce the risks of publishing content that could incite violence or misleading information.
The newspaper confirmed that the decision was effective with the two main Internet service companies, Orange and Telecel.
However, so far, other platforms like WhatsApp and Messenger seem to continue to operate with some normality.
EFE was able to verify restrictions when using platforms such as Facebook, WhatsApp and Instagram.
On Wednesday, a group of soldiers announced their control of Guinea Bissau, suspended the ongoing electoral process, and ordered the closure of the country’s borders and airspace “until further orders are issued.”
The coup took place yesterday, Wednesday, on the eve of the publication of the provisional results of the general elections that took place last Sunday, in which both the outgoing president and the candidate for re-election, Umaru Sissoco Embalo, and his main independent competitor, Fernando Dias da Costa, declared victory.
The coup plotters announced the “immediate” dismissal of Embalo and the “immediate” cessation of the ongoing electoral process.
Guaranteed packed to the middle Young Africa He was arrested.
They also issued a decision to close the country’s institutions, suspend “social media” activities, and impose a national curfew between 7 p.m. And 6:00 am local time (same as Greenwich Mean Time).
Political instability in Guinea Bissau
The country, prone to coups, held elections on Sunday that were marked by the exclusion of prominent opposition leaders.
The elections were held peacefully and, as observers from several international missions, including the African Union mission, confirmed on Tuesday, were “democratic, free and participatory.”
In 2019, Embalo was elected president, but instability has not completely disappeared in Guinea-Bissau: rivalry between security forces, tensions with the opposition, accusations of failed plots, and suspicions of military intervention are the hallmarks of recent years in this West African country.
Guinea Bissau is one of the most unstable countries in Africa, and has suffered four successful coups d’état since its independence from Portugal in 1974 (1980, 1998/1999, 2003 and 2012).
Due to its Atlantic coast, the country is also a transit route for cocaine between Latin America and Europe, which is why it occupies a strategic point in West Africa.
Guterres follows the coup in Guinea-Bissau with “deep concern” and calls for calm
The Secretary-General of the United Nations, António Guterres, is following with deep concern the situation in Guinea Bissau after the coup committed by the army on Wednesday, and called for calm, according to his spokesman, Stephane Dujarric, in a statement published Thursday.
Dujarric said that Guterres urged participants in the current crisis to “exercise restraint” and “respect the rule of law,” adding that the United Nations “will closely follow the development of the situation in the country,” which has historically been characterized by political instability.
The statement said that the UN Secretary-General’s call for calm is based on the fear of “a new institutional collapse, with the expectation of the results of the presidential and legislative elections held on November 23 in Guinea Bissau.”
The elections witnessed “tensions, restrictions imposed on the opposition, and accusations of manipulation,” according to the United Nations.
Civil society groups accuse President Embalo of orchestrating the coup
Civil society organizations accused the outgoing President of Guinea-Bissau, Amr Sissoko Embalo, of “orchestrating” the coup in order to prevent the publication of the preliminary results of the general elections that took place last Sunday, Thursday.
In a joint statement, the PFLP and the Civil Society Organizations Coordination Space accused Embalo and the Chief of General Staff of the Armed Forces, General Biage Na Ntam, of “orchestrating a coup” committed by “a group of militiamen linked to the Presidency of the Republic” due to their “utter despair over the election results.”
The organizations claimed to have “reliable information” revealing that Embalo, who was supposedly overthrown by the coup plotters, “will illegally appoint a new president of the republic and a temporary prime minister for a short period, after which presidential elections will be held in which he intends to run again,” although they did not provide evidence to support this claim.
In the statement issued last night, they noted: “One of the glaring evidences of this disgraceful farce is that Umaru Sissoko Embalo, who claims to be detained by the armed forces, had the time and freedom to give interviews to international media, announcing to the world his alleged detention.”
The organizations condemned this “criminal farce” allegedly promoted by Embalo, which aims to “prevent the publication of election results that would confirm his decisive defeat in the presidential elections.”
CP (efe, monkey)