Six political opponents detained since a coup a month ago in Guinea-Bissau were released Tuesday evening, the junta that seized power announced in a statement.

On November 26, the day before the expected announcement of the provisional results of the presidential and legislative elections in this Portuguese-speaking West African country, the military overthrew outgoing President Umaro Sissoco Embalo, in power since 2020, and suspended the ongoing electoral process.

Opposition candidate Fernando Dias, who claims victory, has found refuge at the Nigerian embassy, which has granted him asylum.

A prominent opposition leader, Domingos Simoes Pereira, was taken prisoner on the day of the coup along with other opponents.

The six people released on Tuesday evening are relatives of Mr. Pereira, leader of the PAIGC, the historic party that led the country to independence in 1974.

These releases constitute a "sign of good faith and a compromise for the return to constitutional normality and respect for international rights," according to a statement consulted by AFP from the High Military Command, the junta's body.

At this stage, Mr. Pereira remains in detention alongside other opposition members and Mr. Dias is still taking refuge in the Nigerian embassy.

A Senegalese delegation led by the Minister of Foreign Affairs, visiting Bissau last Sunday, met with the detained opposition members and asked for their release.

Initially detained by the military at the time of the coup, President Embalo subsequently fled the country.

The junta appointed General Horta N'Tam, a close associate of Mr. Embalo, as president of a transition period expected to last one year.

Last week, ECOWAS threatened to impose "targeted sanctions" on anyone who tries to obstruct the return to civilian rule in Guinea-Bissau.

Located between Senegal and Guinea (Conakry), Guinea-Bissau, an unstable country, had already experienced four coups and a host of attempted coups since its independence from Portugal in 1974.