Updated

Guinea-Bissau's U.N. ambassador says the West African nation is "practically paralyzed" as a result of another political and institutional crisis that has led to a cutoff in international financial aid and hurt the country's economy.

Ambassador Joao Soares Da Gama told the U.N. Security Council on Tuesday that coordinated and continued strong international support "might help us get a solid solution to the persistent impasse" and end the suffering of the people.

The latest crisis was sparked by the president's appointment of a new prime minister by presidential decree on May 26, which led to a political standoff with the ousted prime minister and the dismissed Cabinet.

Guinea-Bissau has seen so many coups and counter-coups that no elected leader has completed his term since the country's independence from Portugal in 1974.