Military Unit Seizes Power in Guinea, Suspends Constitution

The fate of Guinea’s President Alpha Condé is unclear after an
unverified video showed him in the hands of soldiers, who said they
had seized power.

They appeared on national TV claiming to have dissolved the
government.

However, the defence ministry said the attempted takeover had
been thwarted by the presidential guard.

This follows hours of heavy gunfire near the presidential palace
in the capital, Conakry.

The TV address featured nine unnamed soldiers, several draped in
the red, gold and green national flag, who said they had taken over
because of rampant corruption, mismanagement and poverty.

Calling themselves the National Committee for Reconciliation and
Development, they said the constitution had been dissolved and that
there would be consultations to create a new, more inclusive
one.

Numerous reports say the coup was led by an elite unit headed by
a former French legionnaire, Lt Col Mamady Doumbouya.

In one video, which the BBC has not been able to verify,
soldiers ask President Condé, 83, to confirm he is unharmed but he
refuses to respond.

Sitting barefoot on a sofa wearing jeans and a printed shirt, he
does not have any visible injuries.

Those behind the coup said that all land and air borders had
been closed for a week.

However, according to the defence ministry, forces loyal to the
president have “contained the threat and repelled the group of
assailants”.

Earlier, the only bridge connecting the mainland to the Kaloum
peninsular, which houses most ministries and the presidential
palace, was sealed off while many soldiers, some heavily armed,
were posted around the palace, a military source told Reuters news
agency.

There are unconfirmed reports that three soldiers have been
killed.

President Condé was re-elected for a controversial third term in
office amid violent protests last year.

The tumult in Guinea comes about three months after military
officials in neighboring Mali carried out a second coup d’etat in
less than a year.

The Malian military official who ousted both presidents, Col.
Assimi Goïta, had attended several U.S. military training events on
American and West African soil.

Doumbouya, who has led Guinea’s special forces since 2018, also
participated in a U.S. exercise in Mauritania two years ago focused
on fighting terrorism. He praised the “sharing experience” in a
2019 interview.

Guinea’s military last grabbed power in 2008 after the death of
President Lansana Conté, the country’s second leader in the
post-colonial era — an army officer who’d led the country with an
authoritarian fist since the mid-1980s.

Conté himself had seized control in a coup backed by Guinea’s
troops.

The fate of Guinea’s President Alpha Condé is unclear after an
unverified video showed him in the hands of soldiers, who said they
had seized power.

They appeared on national TV claiming to have dissolved the
government.

However, the defence ministry said the attempted takeover had
been thwarted by the presidential guard.

This follows hours of heavy gunfire near the presidential palace
in the capital, Conakry.

The TV address featured nine unnamed soldiers, several draped in
the red, gold and green national flag, who said they had taken over
because of rampant corruption, mismanagement and poverty.

Calling themselves the National Committee for Reconciliation and
Development, they said the constitution had been dissolved and that
there would be consultations to create a new, more inclusive
one.

Numerous reports say the coup was led by an elite unit headed by
a former French legionnaire, Lt Col Mamady Doumbouya.

In one video, which the BBC has not been able to verify,
soldiers ask President Condé, 83, to confirm he is unharmed but he
refuses to respond.

Sitting barefoot on a sofa wearing jeans and a printed shirt, he
does not have any visible injuries.

Those behind the coup said that all land and air borders had
been closed for a week.

However, according to the defence ministry, forces loyal to the
president have “contained the threat and repelled the group of
assailants”.

Earlier, the only bridge connecting the mainland to the Kaloum
peninsular, which houses most ministries and the presidential
palace, was sealed off while many soldiers, some heavily armed,
were posted around the palace, a military source told Reuters news
agency.

There are unconfirmed reports that three soldiers have been
killed.

President Condé was re-elected for a controversial third term in
office amid violent protests last year.

The tumult in Guinea comes about three months after military
officials in neighboring Mali carried out a second coup d’etat in
less than a year.

The Malian military official who ousted both presidents, Col.
Assimi Goïta, had attended several U.S. military training events on
American and West African soil.

Doumbouya, who has led Guinea’s special forces since 2018, also
participated in a U.S. exercise in Mauritania two years ago focused
on fighting terrorism. He praised the “sharing experience” in a
2019 interview.

Guinea’s military last grabbed power in 2008 after the death of
President Lansana Conté, the country’s second leader in the
post-colonial era — an army officer who’d led the country with an
authoritarian fist since the mid-1980s.

Conté himself had seized control in a coup backed by Guinea’s
troops.