African Union suspends Guinea-Bissau after coup and former president flees to Republic of Congo

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DAKAR, Senegal (AP) — The African Union suspended Guinea-Bissau following a military coup, saying it won't tolerate unconstitutional changes.

In a resolution adopted by the AU Peace and Security Council on Friday, the organization reiterated it has “zero tolerance on unconstitutional changes of government.” It moved to "immediately suspend the Republic of Guinea-Bissau from participating in all activities of the Union, its organs and institutions, until constitutional order is restored in the country."

Speaking to The Associated Press on Saturday evening, former president Umaro Sissoco Embaló's chief of staff said the ousted leader traveled to the Republic of the Congo overnight and arrived Saturday morning.

“Yes, the president is already in Brazzaville. We left Dakar last night and arrived in Congo-Brazzaville this morning,” Califa Soares Cassamá, the former president’s chief of staff, confirmed to AP.

Embaló had previously arrived in neighboring Senegal on Thursday on a flight chartered by the Senegalese government.

Guinea-Bissau, one of the world’s poorest countries, has been dogged by coups and attempted coups since its independence from Portugal more than 50 years ago, including a coup attempt in October. The country of 2.2 million people is known as a hub for drug trafficking between Latin America and Europe, a trend that experts say has fueled its political crises.

On Saturday, the president of the Transitional Republic, Gen. Horta Inta-a, appointed a new 28-member government, most of whom are allies of the ousted president.

The West African regional bloc known as ECOWAS on Thursday suspended Guinea-Bissau from its decision-making bodies until the constitutional order is restored.

The military takeover Wednesday came after presidential and legislative elections on Sunday. Incumbent President Embaló and opposition candidate Fernando Dias each claimed victory.

Following the coup, the military high command in the West African nation inaugurated former army chief of staff Inta-a, as the head of the military government, which will oversee a one-year transition period, according to a declaration broadcast on state television.