Guinea’s military commanders stage a coup, ousting President Alpha Conde

Conakry, Guinea – Rebellious soldiers from the West African nation of Guinea arrested President Alpha Conde on Sunday after heavy gunfire near the capital’s presidential palace and announced on state television that the government had dissolved in an apparent coup. state.

The country’s borders were closed and its constitution was declared null and void in the announcement read aloud on state television by Army Colonel Mamadi Doumbouya, who told the foxes, “The duty of a soldier is to save the country. “

“We will no longer entrust politics to a single man. We will entrust it to the people,” said Doumbouya, dressed in a Guinea flag with about half a dozen more flanked soldiers by his side.

It was not immediately known, however, how much support Doumbouya had within the army or whether other soldiers loyal to the president for more than a decade could try to snatch control.

The board later announced plans to replace Guinea’s governors with regional commanders at an event on Monday and warned: “Any refusal to appear will be considered rebellion” against the country’s new military leaders.

The West African regional bloc known as ECOWAS quickly condemned the events, threatening sanctions if Conde was not released immediately. UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres tweeted that he strongly condemned “any takeover of the government by force of arms.”

The US State Department warned against violence and urged the Guinean authorities to avoid “unconstitutional” actions that “will only erode Guinea’s prospects for peace, stability and prosperity.” Spokesman Ned Price added in a statement that “the Board’s actions could limit the ability of the United States and Guinea’s other international partners to support the country.”

Conde’s whereabouts had been unknown for hours after the intense fighting on Sunday in central Conakry until a video appeared showing the 83-year-old leader tired and disheveled in military custody.

The board later issued a statement saying Conde was in contact with his doctors. But they gave no timetable to release him other than to say, “Everything will be fine. When the time comes, we will issue a statement.”

Conde, in power for more than a decade, had seen his popularity drop since he sought a third term last year, saying the term limits did not apply to him. The dramatic events on Sunday highlighted the way in which dissent had also increased in the army.

Doumbouya, who had been the commander of the army’s special forces unit, asked other soldiers “to stand by the people” and stay in their barracks. The army colonel said he was acting in the best interests of the nation, alleging the lack of economic progress of the leaders since the country gained independence from France in 1958.

“If you look at the state of our roads, if you look at the state of our hospitals, you realize that after 72 years it’s time to wake up,” he said. “We have to wake up.”

Observers, though, say tensions between the Guinea president and the army colonel arose from a recent proposal to cut some military salaries.

On Sunday morning, they fired heavy shots near the presidential palace and continued for hours, sparking fears in a nation that has already seen multiple coups and attempted presidential assassinations. The Ministry of Defense initially stated that the attack had been repelled by security forces, but uncertainty grew when there was no subsequent sign of Conde on state television or radio.

The events that followed closely reflect other military coups in West Africa: the army colonel and his colleagues took control of the waves, professing their commitment to democratic values ​​and announcing his name: The National Committee for Concentration and Development.

It was a dramatic setback for Guinea, where many had hoped the country would have turned the pages of military power captures.

Conde’s election victory in 2010, the country’s first democratic vote, was supposed to be a fresh start for a country that had been embroiled in decades of corrupt and authoritarian government and political upheavals. In later years, however, opponents said Conde did not improve the lives of Guineans either, most of whom live in poverty despite the country’s vast mineral wealth of bauxite and gold.

The year after his first election he narrowly survived an assassination attempt after gunmen surrounded his home overnight and ransacked his bedroom with rockets. Rocket-propelled grenades landed inside the compound and one of its bodyguards died.

Violent street protests erupted last year after Conde held a referendum to amend the constitution. Unrest intensified after winning the October election and the opposition said dozens died during the crisis.

In neighboring Senegal, which has a wide diaspora of Guineans who opposed Conde, news of his political demise was relieved.

“President Alpha Conde deserves to be ousted. He stubbornly tried to run for a third term when he had no right to do so,” said Malick Diallo, a young Guinean shopkeeper in the suburbs of Dakar.

“We know that a coup is not good,” said Mamadou Saliou Diallo, another Guinean living in Senegal. “We need to choose a president by democratic vote. But we have no choice. We have a president who is too old, who no longer makes foxes dream and who does not want to leave power.”

Guinea has had a long history of political instability. In 1984, Lansana Conte took control of the country after the death of the first post-independence leader. He remained in power for a quarter of a century until his death in 2008, accused of diverting state coffers to enrich his family and friends.

Soon followed the second coup, which put Moussa “Dadis” Camara at the head of the army. During his rule, security forces opened fire on protesters at a stadium in Conakry protesting his plans to run for president. Human rights groups have said more than 150 people were killed and at least 100 women were raped. Camara later went into exile after surviving an assassination attempt and a transitional government organized the 2010 elections won by Conde.