A Guinean military colonel has gone on state tv to say that President Alpha Conde’s authorities has been dissolved, together with the structure
CONAKRY, Guinea — A Guinean military colonel seized management of state tv Sunday and declared that President Alpha Conde’s authorities had been dissolved within the West African nation, an announcement that got here after hours of heavy gunfire 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, closed the nation’s borders and gave themselves a reputation: The Nationwide Committee of Gathering and Growth.
Nonetheless, the Protection Ministry put out an announcement of its personal Sunday, saying that the assault on the presidential palace within the capital of Conakry had been repelled.
Col. Mamadi Doumbouya sat, draped in a Guinean flag with a half dozen different troopers in uniform alongside him, as he learn an announcement Sunday on the rebellion on state tv, 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. Pictures and video exhibiting Conde within the custody of troopers circulated extensively on social media although their authenticity couldn’t instantly be corroborated.
Conde, in energy for greater than a decade, had seen his recognition plummet since he sought a 3rd time period final 12 months, saying that time period limits didn’t apply to him.
“We are going to now not entrust politics to 1 man; we’ll entrust it to the individuals,” Doumbouya stated, including that the structure would even be dissolved and the nation’s borders can be closed for one week.
Doumbouya, who has headed a particular forces unit within the navy, stated he was appearing in one of the best pursuits of the nation, since he stated not sufficient financial progress has been made because the nation turned unbiased from France in 1958.
“In case you see the state of our roads, should you see the state of our hospitals, you understand that after 72 years, it’s time to get up,” he stated. “We now have to get up.”
Heavy gunfire had erupted early Sunday close to the presidential palace and went on for hours, sparking fears in a nation that already has seen a number of coups and presidential assassination makes an attempt. The Protection Ministry claimed that the assault had been stopped however uncertainty grew when there was no subsequent signal of Conde on state tv or radio.
It was not instantly recognized how broad Doumbouya’s help was throughout the navy’s ranks. In Sunday’s speech, he known as on different troopers “to place themselves on the facet of the individuals” and keep of their barracks.
The president’s reelection in October had prompted violent road demonstrations wherein the opposition stated dozens had been killed. Sunday’s developments underscored how he had additionally change into weak to dissenting components inside his navy.
Conde got here to energy in 2010 within the nation’s first democratic election since independence from France. Many noticed his presidency as a recent 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 reside in poverty regardless of the nation’s huge mineral riches, which embody bauxite and gold.
Guinea has had a protracted historical past of political instability since independence. In 1984, Lansana Conte took management of the nation after the primary post-independence chief died. He remained in energy for 1 / 4 century till his dying in 2009.
A second coup quickly adopted, leaving military Capt. Moussa “Dadis” Camara in cost. He later went into exile after surviving an assassination try, and a transitional authorities later organized the landmark 2010 election received by Conde.
The next 12 months, Conde 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 every of his bodyguards was killed.
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Larson reported from Dakar, Senegal.