The security appointments fell on Generals Tomas Djassi as head of presidential security and Horta Inta as chief of staff for the Presidency of the Republic.

These two positions have long existed in the government’s organizational structure but have not been filled for several decades.

Embalo dismissed the press speculations about the promotions in a regional situation marked by the overthrow of the Nigerien and Gabonese presidents by presidential security officers at the swearing-in ceremony of both officers.

The two generals’ backgrounds indicate they reaffirmed loyalty to President Sissoco Embalo.

Djassi, until his promotion, was head of the National Guard, an elite unit of the Army that played a leading role in quelling the military uprising against Sissoco Embalo in February.

Inta demonstrated his loyalty during his tenure as head of the central police station in Bissau.

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