GUINEA-BISSAU – Frightened residents fled the capital of the west African nation yesterday and some stockpiled supplies after military chiefs shut the country’s air and sea space following their coup five days ago.
As uncertainty in the small impoverished state grew, former colonial power Portugal denounced what it called an “absolutely illegitimate military coup” and said it had dispatched a military force in case it became necessary to evacuate its citizens.
The prospect of Portuguese planes and warships appearing off the coast prompted GuineaBissau’s military chiefs to shut the country’s air and sea space to all unauthorised traffic. “Non-observance of this measure will imply a military response,” a communique announcing the move said.
Ordinary people appeared to be bracing themselves for the worst as it became clear that last week’s coup – in which soldiers seized the country’s civilian leaders and cut short a presidential election – had created an unpredictable power vacuum.
With Guinea-Bissau’s army leaders appealing for calm, banks and government offices shut down in the dilapidated coastal capital Bissau and travellers packed the bus station seeking transport to what they believed would be safer locations in the interior.
Governments and organisations from around the world have roundly condemned the latest putsch by the country’s notoriously unruly military.– (Reuters)