Military officers said they seized “total control” in Guinea-Bissau after arresting the president, following a contentious election.

Gunfire erupted near the presidential palace in the capital of Bissau on Wednesday. President Umaro Sissoco Embalo was quickly arrested by the military, who detained him at the general staff headquarters. A military source told AFP that he was being “well-treated.” After his arrest, Brig. Gen. Denis N’Canha, military spokesman and apparent leader of the coup, gave a press conference, surrounded by armed soldiers in camouflage fatigues, declaring that the military seized “total control.”