Coup In Guinea As Soldiers Detain President Alpha Condé (WATCH VIDE0)

Guinean President Alpha Condé was seen in an unverified video being held by troopers hours after heavy gunfire was reported close to the presidential palace within the capital, Conakry.

 

Requested within the video to verify he was unhurt by the troopers, President Condé refused to reply.

 

One other video additionally confirmed a soldier, flanked by two others, saying the nation’s borders had been closed, the structure suspended, and President Conde detained.

 

The president’s whereabouts couldn’t be ascertained on the time of this report.

 

Nonetheless, AlJazeera quotes the defence ministry spokesperson as saying the tried rebellion had been put down.

 

“The presidential guard, supported by the loyalist and republican defence and safety forces, contained the risk and repelled the group of assailants,” it stated in an announcement.

 

“Safety and brushing operations are persevering with to revive order and peace.”

 

The coup has sparked fears among the many civilian inhabitants, two amongst whom had sustained gunshot wounds, in accordance with witnesses Reuters spoke with.

 

There are additionally experiences that troopers have been dispatched to patrol the streets of Conakry and mount the presidential palace.

Native tabloid, Guineenews, reported that President Alpha Condé was arrested by particular forces led by Commander Mamady Doumbouya, believed to be the chief of the putsch.

 

Al-Jazeera quoted a senior authorities official as saying the president was unhurt.

 

Guineenews additionally stated high officers of the federal government have been additionally taken into custody by the particular forces, an elite military corps stated to be dissatisfied with the regime.

 

The main points of what seems like a coup are nonetheless hazy, however Reuters information company quoted a navy official as saying that the bridge connecting the remainder of the town to the Kaloum neighbourhood had been sealed off with many troopers patrolling the palace. The neighbourhood is house to main authorities infrastructure, together with the presidential palace.

 

When elected in 2010 after many years as an opposition candidate himself, Mr Condé, 83, grew to become the primary freely elected president within the nation’s historical past.

 

In July 2011, he survived an assassination scare after the presidential residence was shelled, ensuing within the dying of a presidential guard and the accidents of two others.

 

A graduate of Pantheon-Sorbonne College, President Condé had seen out his second time period restrict in 2020 when he said {that a} March 2020 constitutional referendum allowed him to run for a 3rd.

 

He was reelected final yr for a 3rd time period after successful 59.5 per cent of the votes, a consequence the opposition rejected alleging that it was fraught with fraud, triggering violent protests throughout the nation.

 

He has been criticised for his dealing with of the protests and ones earlier than them.

Guinea’s financial system has seen a sustained rebound beneath him from the nation’s bauxite, iron ore, gold and diamond wealth, however the far-reaching impacts haven’t trickled down tothe majority of its residents.

 

The coup in Guinea happens months after coups in two different West African nations: Chad and Mali.