Normality returns to Guinea-Bissau after failed coup attempt

Guinea-Bissau president Umaro Sissoco Embaló declared that peace has returned to the country after Tuesday's failed coup attempt.

The president spoke to the media after announcing on the social networks that the situation was under control.

"At the preview of the Council of Ministers, I could never have imagined that the President of the Republic, the Supreme Commander of the armed forces, the Prime Minister and all other members of the government (were) surprised by gunfire from heavy artillery, machine guns and AK-47s. The shooting lasted five hours in order to rescue the Supreme Commander", said Umaro Sissoco Embaló, President of Guinea-Bissau.

On Tuesday, the government palace was under attack for several hours while the president and prime-minister were inside.

The authorities did not provide information about victims or who might be behind the attack.

"There are dead, but I don't know, because the President was between fire and iron for five hours, and I couldn't imagine how many, but there are dead, there are many dead, it's true, on one side and on the other" said the President.

The former Portuguese colony is a coastal state of around two million people lying south of Senegal.

It has seen four military coups since gaining independence from Portugal in 1974, most recently in 2012.

In 2014, the country vowed to return to constitutional government, but it has enjoyed little stability since then and the armed forces enjoy substantial influence.