Members of the Bissau-Guinean military stand guard in front of the hall where General Horta N'Tam was sworn in as head of the transition and commander of the High Command, in Bissau, on November 27, 2025. PATRICK MEINHARDT / AFP
The African Union (AU) suspended Guinea-Bissau on Friday, November 28, the AU Commission head told Agence France-Presse (AFP), two days after the overthrow of President Umaro Sissoco Embalo in a military takeover.
The military announced on Wednesday they had overthrown Embalo, derailing the announcement of election results, that had been expected shortly in the Portuguese-speaking West African nation. The AU decided "to suspend Guinea-Bissau from its bodies with immediate effect," chairman Mahmoud Ali Youssouf said.
The junta appointed General Horta N'Tam, previously the army chief of staff, as president of the transition, which is to last one year. After initially being arrested by the military, Embalo fled to Senegal on Thursday. Opposition presidential candidate Fernando Dias, who claims to have won the election, told AFP that he was "safe" and in hiding in the country.
The military takeover has been widely criticized. United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres denounced the "unacceptable violation of democratic principles." The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) also suspended the country from "all decision-making bodies."
