"This action aimed to disrupt the electoral process," General Mamadu Ture, deputy chief of staff, told a press conference without specifying the number of officers arrested or what actions they planned to take.
Campaigning kicks off Saturday in Guinea-Bissau, approximately three weeks ahead of the legislative and presidential elections likely to be dominated by incumbent Umaro Sissoco Embalo after the main opposition was disqualified.
Embalo told reporters after a cabinet meeting Thursday that "no disorder will be tolerated", adding that the "government has taken all necessary measures to ensure the safety of each candidate during this campaign".
Brigadier General Daba Nawalna, director of a military training centre about 30 kilometres (18 miles) from the capital Bissau, is accused of being one of the masterminds of the plot and was among those arrested, Ture said.
Guinea-Bissau has laboured under a succession of coups since independence from Portugal in 1974 but since its 2014 presidential election, the Portuguese-speaking country has set itself on the path towards the rule of law.
Tanzania preliminary results show landslide win for President Hassan: state TV
Dar Es Salaam (AFP) Nov 1, 2025 -
Tanzanian President Samia Suluhu Hassan has won a landslide election victory, preliminary results showed Saturday, after key candidates were jailed or barred from a vote that has triggered days of violent protests.
The final results were expected in the coming hours, but initial counts on state TV showed Hassan winning more than 95 percent in every constituency, an AFP journalist said.
State TV said a quick swearing-in ceremony would take place on Saturday.
The main opposition party, Chadema, says hundreds of people have been killed by security forces since protests broke out on election day on Wednesday.
Hassan has not made any public statement since the unrest began.
Her government denies using "excessive force" but has blocked the internet and imposed a tight lockdown and curfew nationwide, making it hard to get any information.
News websites have not been updated since early Wednesday and journalists are not allowed to operate freely in the country.
UN chief Antonio Guterres is "deeply concerned" about the situation in Tanzania, "including reports of deaths and injuries during the demonstrations", his spokesman said in a statement.
A Chadema spokesman told AFP on Friday that "around 700" people had been killed, based on figures gathered from a network checking hospitals and health clinics.
A security source and diplomat in Dar es Salaam both told AFP that deaths were "in the hundreds" as protests continued on Friday.
Hassan had sought to cement her position and silence critics in her party with an emphatic win.
The authorities barred Chadema from taking part and put its leader on trial for treason.
Rights groups described a "wave of terror" in the east African nation ahead of the vote, including a string of high-profile abductions that escalated in the final days.
Much public anger has been directed at Hassan's son, Abdul Halim Hafidh Ameir, accused of overseeing the crackdown.
Hassan has faced opposition from parts of the army and allies of her iron-fisted predecessor, John Magufuli, since taking over upon his death in 2021, analysts say.
But army chief Jacob Mkunda came out strongly on Hassan's side on Thursday, calling the protesters "criminals".
Foreign Minister Mahmoud Thabit Kombo said Friday that his government had "no figures" on any dead.
"Currently, no excessive force has been used," he said in an interview with Al Jazeera. "There's no number until now of any protesters killed."
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