ECOWAS delegation visits Guinea-Bissau for talks after military coup | Conflict News

Nigeria has provided security to Guinea-Bissau opposition leader Fernando Dias da Costa, citing ‘imminent threat to his life’.

A delegation from the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) has visited Guinea-Bissau for mediation talks with the leaders of last week’s coup, as regional pressure grows on military leaders who seized power following a disputed election.

The mission, led by Julius Maada Bio, ECOWAS chair and Sierra Leone President, arrived in Guinea-Bissau on Monday to urge military authorities to “complete restoration of constitutional order.”

The military has tightened restrictions in the country, banning all demonstrations and strikes.

“We had very productive discussions today,” said Sierra Leonean Foreign Minister Timothy Moses Kaba. “Both sides have expressed their separate concerns.”

Guinea-Bissau’s newly appointed Foreign Minister João Bernardo Vieira said it was “very clearly established” that ECOWAS would not abandon the country “during this difficult period”.

“The transition authorities and the military will continue their discussions,” he said.

The coup came three days after a closely fought presidential election in the country, in which both main contenders – outgoing President Oumar Sissoko Embalo and opposition candidate Fernando Dias da Costa – claimed victory before provisional results were declared. No results have been released since then.

During the takeover, Emballo told French media over the phone that he had been deposed and arrested. He has since fled to Brazzaville, the capital of the Republic of Congo.

Guinea-Bissau’s military authorities appointed former army chief General Horta Inta-A to lead a one-year transition government. On Saturday, Inta-A named a new 28-member Cabinet, largely comprised of people aligned with the ousted president.

Meanwhile, Nigeria said its President Bola Tinubu has granted security to opposition leader Dias da Costa, citing “imminent threat to his life”.

According to a letter sent to ECOWAS by Nigeria’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, Dias da Costa is currently at the Nigerian Embassy in Bissau. The letter requested the deployment of ECOWAS forces to provide security to the opposition candidate.

Separately, the main opposition African Independence Party for Guinea and Cape Verde (PAIGC) said in a statement that its headquarters in the capital had been “illegally attacked by heavily armed militia groups”.

The party was barred from fielding a presidential candidate in the November 23 election, a move criticized by civil rights groups as part of a broader crackdown on dissent.

ECOWAS, widely seen as West Africa’s leading political and regional authority with 15 member states, responded to the coup by suspending Guinea-Bissau from all its decision-making bodies “until the restoration of full and effective constitutional order in the country”.

International condemnation continues to grow, with UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres saying he is gravely concerned and condemning the military takeover, warning that “disregarding the will of the people who voted peacefully during the November 23 general elections is an unacceptable violation of democratic principles”.

Guterres called for the “immediate and unconditional restoration of constitutional order” and the release of all detained officials, including electoral officials and opposition figures.