General Horta is sworn in as interim President of Guinea Bissau

The Guinea-Bissau army said in a statement that General Horta Nta Na Man was sworn in as the country’s interim president on Thursday, one day after army officers announced the president’s impeachment.

The officers, who referred to themselves as the “Supreme Military Command for the Restoration of Order,” said in a statement broadcast on television on Wednesday that they had ousted President Omar Sissoko Embalo, in the latest episode of unrest in the country that witnessed a coup.

This comes a day before the initial results that were expected to be announced in the race between Embalo and Fernando Dias, a 47-year-old newcomer to the political scene, who has emerged as Embalo’s strongest competitor for the presidency of the West African country.

Calm prevailed in most parts of the capital, Bissau, today, with soldiers deployed in the streets and many residents remaining in their homes even after the night curfew was lifted. Companies and banks closed their doors.