West African leaders have taken a hard stance against the latest political upheaval in Guinea-Bissau, issuing a forceful rebuke of the coup that unseated President Umaro Sissoco Embaló.
In a decisive move, ECOWAS announced the suspension of Guinea-Bissau from all of its decision-making bodies, underscoring the regional bloc’s zero-tolerance approach to unconstitutional changes of government.
The position was made clear in a communiqué released after an extraordinary virtual summit of the ECOWAS Mediation and Security Council, convened at the level of Heads of State and Government to assess the escalating situation in the country.
In the statement, the leaders demanded the immediate restoration of constitutional rule and called for the unconditional release of President Embaló, whose abrupt removal from power has drawn widespread concern across the region.
To intensify diplomatic efforts, ECOWAS has also set up a high-profile mediation team made up of the presidents of Sierra Leone, Togo, Senegal, and Cape Verde. The delegation is expected to engage all sides in the crisis with a view to restoring stability and preventing further deterioration of security in Guinea-Bissau.
Full details of the communique below:
