Following the successful execution of a coup on Wednesday, November 26, soldiers in Guinea-Bissau have announced General Horta N’Ta as the leader of the new military junta.

This comes one day after the military announced the disposition of President Umaro Sissoco Embaló and halted the general election process, and formed what was called the “High Military Command for the Restoration of Order.”

After the general voting on Sunday, incumbent President Embaló and leading rival Fernando Dias had both claimed victory, creating a tense period while the results were being awaited. The military seized the opportunity to orchestrate a takeover of the West African country, after which it announced that it had “assumed the full powers of the State of the Republic of Guinea-Bissau” after discovering what it described as an ongoing plan to destabilise the country by disrupting the electoral process.

According to reports, both the deposed president and his main challenger, Dias, are under detention by the military, which has now sworn in a new military head of state in N’Ta. N’Ta, the army chief of staff until the successful coup attempt and a close ally of President Embaló, will lead a transitional period for at least one year.

The ECOWAS and African Union have bemoaned the coup as a threat to constitutional order in a region that has been dogged by coups and attempted coups since its independence over five decades ago, including a coup attempt in October. Meanwhile, this adds to the escalating series of coups in West Africa, particularly within the increasingly volatile Sahel region.