The President of Guinea-Bissau and his cabinet have been the target of a coup attempt last February 1. Three days after the event, ECOWAS announced it will send stabilization support to the country to prevent any further such attempts.

The regional bloc announced so following the extraordinary summit of the institution's Conference of Heads of State and Government on the political situation in Burkina Faso, Guinea, and Mali. The summit was held yesterday February 3, in Accra, Ghana.

"The Conference [of ECOWAS Heads of State] has strongly condemned this coup attempt and expressed its solidarity with President Embalo and the people of Guinea Bissau. Given the latest developments, the Conference decided to send a support force to stabilize the country," the ECOWAS communiqué said. For their part, however, the Guinea-Bissau authorities have not yet made a public statement on this deployment.

According to the latest report from the authorities, the attack left 11 people dead. Several arrests have already been made and investigations are ongoing.