Guinea-Bissau’s military authorities have imposed an outright ban on protests, strikes and any activity deemed a threat to “peace and stability,” escalating their control just hours before a high-level delegation from West Africa’s ECOWAS bloc arrived in the country, Reuters reported on Monday.
The directive, announced late Sunday, marks the latest move by the junta, which seized power in what several West African leaders have described as a “sham” coup. The order also instructed all public institutions, ministries and state secretariats to reopen immediately and resume normal operations.
The crackdown follows a surge of unrest in the capital, Bissau. On Saturday, hundreds of demonstrators — largely young people — took to the streets demanding the release of detained opposition figures and the publication of disputed presidential election results.
The ECOWAS mediation mission, comprising the presidents of Togo, Cape Verde and Senegal, along with the head of the ECOWAS Commission, was expected in Bissau on Monday. Their objective is to push the coup leaders to restore constitutional rule and release the contested election returns, according to Reuters.
The regional bloc has warned it may impose targeted sanctions against individuals or groups responsible for undermining Guinea-Bissau’s democratic process or obstructing the electoral transition.
Major-General Horta Inta-a, the interim president installed by the junta, insisted the coup was necessary to prevent what he described as an attempted takeover by “narcotraffickers” seeking to “capture Guinean democracy.” He pledged to oversee a one-year transition period starting immediately.
The power grab marks yet another chapter in the country’s long-running instability. Guinea-Bissau, seen as a key transit point for cocaine smuggling from Latin America to Europe, has endured repeated military interventions and chronic political turmoil — a pattern that regional leaders warn could deepen without swift corrective action.
