[2][3][4] A few hours later, president Umaro Sissoco Embaló declared the coup over, he said that "many" members of the security forces had been killed in a "failed attack against democracy".

[5] The president Umaro Sissoco Embaló told the AFP news agency in a telephone call that "All is well", and added that the situation is "under control".

Since the first one in November 1980, there have been: Armed men surrounded the government palace on 1 February 2022, where President Umaro Sissoco Embaló and Prime Minister Nuno Gomes Nabiam were believed to have gone to attend a cabinet meeting.

Al Jazeera reporter, Nicolas Haque, said it was unclear whether the gunfire was the presidential guards trying to protect the president, or if there was an attack on the government palace.

"The latest information I have is positive given that the president is already at his palace, at his official residence ... but we still don’t know if the attack is over," Augusto Santos Silva said in an interview with Portuguese broadcaster RTP.

He added that the attack "was well prepared and organised and could also be related to people involved in drug trafficking", giving no further details.