Nearly a week after the attack on the government palace on Tuesday February 1, questions remain unanswered: who were the attackers? What were their motivations? The authorities denounced a coup attempt perpetrated by ” individuals linked to drug trafficking » and « mercenaries, Casamance rebels “. Life quickly returned to normal in Bissau. But the page is not yet turned.
With our special correspondent in Bissau, Charlotte Idrac
” It’s like nothing happened “says a resident of Bissau, while shopping at the bustling market. However, ” the problems are before us “says a political actor, who points to the” bad relationships between President Umaro Sissoco Embalo and his Prime Minister Nuno Nabiam in recent months.
Among the points of tension: the landing at the end of October of an A340 plane with the authorization of the Head of State. The Prime Minister initially asked for explanations about the cargo, ” suspicious ” according to him. A draft agreement with neighboring Senegal on oil resources, then a ministerial reshuffle decided by the president at the end of January also caused friction. ” The worm was in the fruit from the start “, and ” the two men have reached a point of no return “, the duo ” can’t last “says our interlocutor.
The army “not ready to let go of its share of the pie”
ECOWAS has announced sending a new stabilization force, without precision at this stage on a calendar or its workforce. However, it was Umaro Sissoco Embalo himself who had asked for the departure of Ecomib, at the end of 2020. “ In a context of mistrust between politicians and soldiers, will the army accept the arrival of foreign soldiers? asks a civil society leader who says to herself ” worried about what will happen next “. The analyst Rui Landim, very critical of power, denounces for his part a ” pretext “, and ” an attempt at interference by Senegal ” neighbor.
Yes “ the president can count on his international network, in particular with his Senegalese counterparts Macky Sall and Nigerian Muhammadu Buhari, concludes an observer of political life, it is the army, even divided into interest groups, which de facto legitimizes power, and it is not ready to let go of its share of the cake “.