African Union calls for immediate release of G.Bissau president

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ADDIS ABABA —  The African Union called on Thursday for the "immediate and unconditional" release of Guinea-Bissau's president, Umaro Sissoco Embalo, after the military seized power.

Military officers declared "total control" of the country after they seized control on Wednesday, arresting the president and derailing the announcement of the election results, which Embala had been expected to win.

General Horta N'Tam, chief of staff of the army, declared he had been sworn in to lead on Thursday, in the country's fourth coup since independence from Portugal in 1974.

In a statement on X, chair of the AU Mahmoud Ali Youssouf called "for the immediate and unconditional release of President Embalo and all detained officials", urging all parties to exercise restraint.

Embalo was arrested on Wednesday and is being held at general-staff headquarters, where he was being "well-treated", according to a military source.

A senior officer added the chief of staff and the minister of the interior had also been detained.

Opposition leader Domingos Simoes Pereira, who was barred from last weekend's presidential election by the Supreme Court, was also arrested Wednesday, according to two sources close to him.

The AU "unequivocally condemns" the coup, the statement added, and stressed "the imperative of respecting the ongoing electoral process".

Guinea-Bissau is among the world's poorest countries and is also a hub for drug trafficking between Latin America and Europe, a trade facilitated by the nation's long history of political tumult.