A man walks down an empty street in Bissau on Dec 1, 2023. Gunfire was heard for part of the night and early on Dec 1 in Bissau between members of the National Guard and presidential guard special forces, an AFP reporter heard. Guinea-Bissau's army said Friday it was holding the leader of the security forces unit involved in clashes overnight in the capital and had the situation under control. (PHOTO / AFP)

BISSAU - Guinea-Bissau President Umaro Sissoco Embalo on Saturday said this week's deadly violence in the capital was an "attempted coup" with "serious consequences for all those involved."

Embalo spoke to the press at Osvaldo Vieira International Airport Saturday evening after his return from Dubai, where he attended the COP28 climate conference.

On Feb 1, 2022, members of the Guinea-Bissau army launched a failed coup against President Umaro Sissoco Embalo

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Clashes between elements of the National Guard and special forces of the Presidential Guard broke out during the night from Thursday to Friday.

A press release from the General Staff of the Armed Forces said that at 8 pm (2000 GMT) on Thursday, a group of soldiers, led by their commander Colonel Victor Tchongo, released individuals who were being questioned at the judicial police building.

Tchongo and some of his people were arrested Friday morning by the military police, according to military sources.

Tchongo "was at the request of someone to remove the Minister of Finance from the prisons of the judicial police", said Embalo, adding he would create next Monday "a commission of inquiry to investigate the situation of the attempted coup."

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On Feb 1, 2022, members of the Guinea-Bissau army launched a failed coup against Embalo.