West African regional bloc ECOWAS on Thursday condemned a military takeover in Guinea-Bissau and called for the immediate release of President Umaro Sissoco Embalo and other arrested officials.
ECOWAS chair Julius Maada Bio "unequivocally condemns the coup d'etat", which came as the country awaited the results of a presidential election, calling it a "grave violation of Guinea-Bissau's constitutional order" and warning it threatened regional stability, the bloc said in a statement.