PRETORIA, November 26. /Zoomer Africa/. Soldiers who seized power in Guinea-Bissau as a result of a coup d’etat have established a High Military Command for the Restoration of Order to serve as the supreme governing body of the country, Brigadier General Denis N'Canha said in a speech on national television.

According to him, the command will rule the country until further notice. It has not yet been announced who will head this governing body.

The military has already suspended the activities of all civilian institutions, closed Guinea-Bissau's external borders, imposed a nighttime curfew, suspended the activities of the media, and stopped counting votes in the presidential and parliamentary elections held on November 23. The election commission had planned to announce the results on November 28.

Guinea-Bissau President Umaro Sissoco Embalo, who was running for re-election for a second term, was arrested by the servicemen in the middle of the day in his office in the presidential palace. He told several media outlets over the phone that no violence had been used against him. Chief of the General Staff Biague Na Ntan, Deputy Chief of Staff Mamadou Toure and Interior Minister Botche Cande were also arrested.

The Jeune Afrique news outlet reported that Domingos Simoes Pereira, leader of the main opposition African Party for the Independence of Guinea and Cape Verde (PAIGC), and Fernando Dias da Costa, the party's candidate in the recent presidential election, have been arrested as well. Their whereabouts are unknown.

Before the military takeover, General N'Canha served as head of the presidential military office. His responsibilities included ensuring the personal security of the head of state.

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