Was it coup or was it a 'sham'? Behind Guinea-Bissau's military takeover

Just three days before the military takeover, Bissau-Guineans voted in a presidential election. Embaló, 53, was running for a second term and his closest challenger was Fernando Dias da Costa.

Dias had been backed by former Prime Minister Domingos Pereira, who was initially supposed to run for president on behalf of the main opposition party, PAIGC. However, Pereira had been disqualified from the contest after the authorities said he filed his papers late.

The election results were supposed to have been released on Thursday, the day after the coup took place.

After gunfire was heard in capital, Bissau, Embaló told French news site Jeune Afrique that he had been arrested by men in uniform in the presidential palace.

Military officers then appeared on state television, announcing they had deposed the president in order to thwart a plot to destabilise the country. The military suspended the electoral process and blocked the release of the poll results.

In a brief phone call, Embaló told France 24: "I have been deposed."

Others were also detained, including Pereira, Interior Minister Botché Candé and army chief Gen Biague Na N'tan.

The headquarters of the electoral commission came under attack and an official has since revealed that armed men wearing balaclavas destroyed paperwork and the main computer server that stored the results - meaning the election results cannot be published.

Goodluck Jonathan, Nigeria's former president, also questioned the coup, saying a head of state would not normally be allowed to talk to foreign media on the phone during a military takeover.

"What happened in Guinea-Bissau was not a coup... for want of a better word, I would say it was a ceremonial coup," the ex-president, who was part of a team observing the elections in Guinea-Bissau, told reporters.

Jonathan is right, deposed leaders are not usually known to make contact with the outside world while under arrest. But there are exceptions - Gabon's former president filmed a video urging his "friends all over the world" for support after being ousted in 2023.

The appointment of Gen Horta N'Tam as Guinea-Bissau's new military leader has also raised suspicions, as the general was considered to be a close ally of Embaló's.

Embaló has not responded to allegations that he orchestrated the coup.

Gen N'Tam, formerly the army's chief of staff, has been sworn in as president and is due to stay in power for a transition period of one year.

The general has appointed a new cabinet, comprising 23 ministers and five secretaries of state.

Embaló, on the other hand, has left Senegal for Congo-Brazzaville. According to sources in Senegal and Guinea-Bissau, he departed as he was upset that Senegal's prime minister had called the coup a "sham".

Dias, who said he evaded arrest on the day of the coup, has been granted asylum by Nigeria.