The military leadership governing Guinea-Bissau has issued a binding national security decree barring the return of ousted former President Umaro Sissoco Embalo from foreign exile, citing the risk of armed civil confrontation ahead of planned elections.

The directive was broadcast over state radio following emergency meetings of the Supreme Military Council in the capital, Bissau, where armed checkpoints have been established along primary government boulevards and airport access corridors.

Former President Embalo, who departed the country following disputed civil unrest earlier this year, had publicly announced his intention to return to lead his political party's parliamentary campaign.

"Preserving state territorial integrity and preventing factional skirmishes among armed forces units is the primary responsibility of transitional command."
— Supreme Military Command Official Communiqué, Bissau

ECOWAS Diplomacy and Constitutional Mediation

The decree provoked immediate concern among regional diplomats. The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) announced the dispatch of a high-level mediation envoy to Bissau to negotiate an inclusive electoral timetable.

Civil society organizations and democratic opposition coalitions warned that excluding key political actors from the electoral process could provoke widespread protests and further isolate the West African nation from international development financing.