Security forces, including police and the national guard with armored vehicles, were deployed across Guinea-Bissau’s capital on Thursday following an opposition call for protests.
Authorities stationed riot tanks and increased patrols on main roads and roundabouts as a precautionary measure. Despite the heightened security, daily activities continued, with markets open and public transport operating normally.
The opposition had urged a nationwide strike, claiming President Umaro Sissoco Embalo’s term officially ended on Thursday. However, Embalo recently announced that presidential and parliamentary elections would be held in November, a move the opposition rejects.
Parents in some neighborhoods chose to keep their children home from school as tensions simmered. Meanwhile, a delegation from the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) arrived to mediate political talks.
Gatherings have been banned in recent weeks by the interior ministry as authorities seek to prevent unrest. Embalo, who dissolved the opposition-led parliament in December 2023 after what he described as an attempted coup, had initially scheduled early legislative elections for November 2024 but later postponed them indefinitely due to logistical and financial constraints.