Guinea-Bissau: Heavy gunfire heard near government palace

Heavy gunfire has been heard in the capital of Guinea-Bissau near a government compound where a cabinet meeting was being held.

President Umaro Cissoko Embalo, a former army general, was believed to be inside the building at the time of Tuesday’s attack.

It was not immediately clear who was firing the gunshots.

A security source with contacts inside the building said people had been hit by the gunfire.

A second source said two people were dead, but it was unclear if they were security forces or those who launched the attack.

Decades of political instability 

Embalo was declared the winner of the 2020 election, though the results were contested by opponent Domingos Simoes Pereira.

Embalo began forming a new government with support from the military while a Supreme Court election challenge was still pending.

Political instability has blighted the country for decades.

Nine coups or attempted coups since independence from Portugal in 1974 have hobbled efforts to pull the economy beyond its reliance on the export of cashew nuts.

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