Guinea-Bissau: the country is recovering from the coup attempt, ECOWAS sends soldiers
A soldier near the government palace in Bissau, February 1, 2022. AFP - AFPTV TEAMS
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2 mins
A few days after the coup attempt that still marks the presidential palace in Bissau, ECOWAS decided at its summit on Thursday to send soldiers to the country.
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With our special correspondent in Bissau
,
Charlotte Idrac
ECOWAS heads of state announced that soldiers would be deployed in Guinea-Bissau without specifying the timetable or the number of soldiers sent.
The announcement follows
Tuesday's unrest
, an attack on the government palace described as an "
attempted coup", in
which
11 people were killed
, according to the official report.
On the ground, casings and traces of blood
President Umaro Sissoco Embalo received this Friday morning representatives of political parties who came to express their "
solidarity
".
Several days after
the attack on the institutions
, the marks of the violence of the clashes with heavy weapons remain clearly visible.
This Friday, firefighters were cleaning the ground with brooms, with plenty of water, in front of the palace where you could still see traces of blood and a few ammunition casings on the ground.
At the entrance, two of the glass doors were shattered, thus spreading broken glass on the front of the presidential palace where, again, traces of blood appear.
The interior has not yet been cleaned.
In the Council room, where the President and the ministers were meeting on Tuesday, nothing changed.
Computers have been left on the large rectangular table, some are still open.
There are also files and other documents dated February 1st.
The president hid in a technical room
According to military officials, President Umaro Sissoco Embalo left this room during the attack through the back door to hide in a technical room, behind an electrical cupboard.
And in this room, on the window, you can see a fragment of a bullet.
On the other hand, the office of the financial director was completely ransacked.
Few people were present this Friday at the government palace except soldiers standing guard, but without a particularly impressive security device.
The building curator was also present, but the civil servants have not yet returned to work.
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To read also: Guinea-Bissau: after the coup attempt, many unanswered questions
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Guinea-Bissau
Umaro Sissoco Embalo