Guinea: Conde Detained As Government Is Dissolved In Coup

A Guinean military colonel seized management of state tv Sunday and declared that President Alpha Conde’s authorities had been dissolved and the West African nation’s borders closed, an announcement that got here after hours of heavy gunfire erupted close to the presidential palace.

The dramatic developments Sunday bore all of the hallmarks of a West African coup d’etat. After seizing the airwaves, the mutinous troopers vowed to revive democracy and gave themselves a reputation: The Nationwide Committee of Gathering and Improvement.

Col. Mamadi Doumbouya sat draped in a Guinean flag with a half dozen different troopers in uniform alongside him as he learn the assertion, vowing: “The responsibility of a soldier is to save lots of the nation.”

He made no point out of Conde’s whereabouts and it was not instantly recognized the place the 83-year-old chief was after Sunday’s assault. Conde’s recognition has plummeted since he sought a 3rd time period final 12 months, saying that time period limits didn’t apply to him.

“The personalization of political life is over. We’ll not entrust politics to at least one man, we are going to entrust it to the folks,” Doumbouya stated, including that the structure would even be dissolved and borders closed for one week.

Doumbouya, who has headed a particular forces unit within the army, stated he was performing in the very best pursuits of the nation of over 12.7 million folks. Not sufficient financial progress has been made since independence from France in 1958, the colonel stated.

“If you happen to see the state of our roads, in case you see the state of our hospitals, you understand that after 72 years, it’s time to get up,” he stated. “We’ve to get up.”

Heavy gunfire had erupted early Sunday close to the presidential palace within the capital of Conakry and went on for hours, sparking fears of a coup try. The Protection Ministry claimed that the assault had been repelled however uncertainty grew when there was no signal of Conde on state tv or radio.

His re-election in October had prompted violent road demonstrations during which the opposition stated dozens had been killed. Sunday’s developments underscored how he had additionally turn into weak to dissenting parts inside his army.

Conde got here to energy in 2010 within the nation’s first democratic election since independence from France. Many noticed his presidency as a contemporary begin for the nation, which has been mired by many years of corrupt, authoritarian rule.

Opponents, although, say he has failed to enhance the lives of Guineans, most of whom stay in poverty regardless of the nation’s huge mineral riches together with bauxite and gold.

In 2011, he narrowly survived an assassination try after gunmen surrounded his dwelling in a single day and pounded his bed room with rockets. Rocket-propelled grenades additionally landed contained in the compound and one in all his bodyguards was killed.