Guinea-Bissau’s President Umaro Sissoco Embalo has taken measures to beef up his personal security, according to a report by Channels Television.
Photo credit: Africa
He has appointed two new officials, General Tomas Djassi and General Horta Inta, to head his presidential security and serve as his chief of staff, respectively.
These positions have been vacant for several decades and were filled on Friday, with the officials being sworn in on Monday at the presidential palace.
Guinea-Bissau has a history of military coups, with four occurring since its independence in 1974. The most recent one was in 2012, and an attempt to overthrow Embalo occurred in February 2022.
The president has acknowledged the trend of coups being carried out by presidential security officers and has assured that any suspicious movement will be met with an appropriate response.
Djassi previously served as the head of the National Guard, an elite unit of the army that helped prevent the 2022 coup attempt.
Inta was the head of the central police station in Bissau. Last month, Embalo warned that Niger’s coup presented a threat to the Economic Community of West African States and stated that Mohamed Bazoum, the deposed Nigerien president, was the only legitimate leader of that country.
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