Ousted President Embaló Arrives in Senegal Following Guinea-Bissau Military Takeover

Following a swift military takeover on November 26, 2025, Guinea-Bissau’s deposed President Umaro Sissoco Embaló arrived in neighboring Senegal after successful negotiations facilitated by the regional bloc ECOWAS.

The Senegalese Foreign Ministry confirmed that Embaló landed safely in Dakar on November 27 aboard an aircraft chartered specifically for his transfer. While his release was framed as a humanitarian gesture to ensure his personal safety, his departure solidified the beginning of a formal transitional period under the authority of the military junta.

Operating under the title of the High Military Command for the Restoration of National Security and Public Order, the junta moved quickly to establish a new leadership structure. General Horta Inta-A Na Man, the former army chief of staff, was sworn in as the transitional president on November 27.

He has justified the intervention as a necessary response to prevent electoral manipulation and destabilization by unnamed political actors and criminal elements. In one of his first official acts, General Inta-A appointed Ilídio Vieira Té, a former finance minister, to lead a 28-member transitional cabinet that is expected to govern the country for a one-year period.

The current political landscape in Bissau remains marked by high tension and the suppression of the democratic process. Although the junta released six opposition members on December 23 as a sign of good faith, several high-profile figures, including Domingos Simões Pereira, remain in military custody.

Meanwhile, opposition candidate Fernando Dias, who claims to have won the recent election, has sought asylum at the Nigerian embassy in Bissau following credible threats to his life. The official results of the November 23 election have been effectively erased after armed men destroyed the National Electoral Commission’s servers and tally sheets during the initial hours of the coup.

International pressure on the military government continues to mount as the African Union and ECOWAS have both suspended Guinea-Bissau from their respective organizations. At a recent summit in Abuja, ECOWAS leaders formally rejected the military’s one-year transition roadmap and threatened targeted sanctions against individuals who obstruct the return to civilian rule.

While a Senegalese delegation led by Foreign Minister Cheikh Niang visited the capital in late December to advocate for the release of political prisoners, the junta’s refusal to allow a planned visit by ECOWAS military chiefs indicates a deepening rift between the new regime and regional partners.