NAIROBI, KOMPAS.TV – The United States Green Berets were apparently training Guinean special forces last weekend when the country’s special forces carried out a mission not listed in the military training manual: they staged a coup!
Gunfire rang out as a unit of Guinea’s elite special forces stormed the presidential palace in the capital Conakry on Sunday morning (5/9/2021), toppling 83-year-old President Alpha Conde.
Hours later, a charismatic young officer, Colonel Mamady Doumbouya, 41, announced himself as Guinea’s new leader. Americans (US) know Doumbouya well.
A team of about a dozen Green Berets have been in Guinea since mid-July to train about 100 soldiers in the special forces unit led by Colonel Doumbouya. Dombouya served for years in the French Foreign Legion, took part in US military exercises and was a close ally of the president he ousted.
The coup in Guinea is the fourth military takeover in West Africa in the past 12 months, following two coups in Mali and a disputed succession in Chad, stoking fears of democratic backsliding in the coup-prone region of Africa.
The US, along with the United Nations and the African Union, condemned the coup. And the US military denied they had any prior knowledge of the coup.
For the Pentagon, this is a disgrace. The US trains troops in many African countries, mostly for counter-terrorism programs but also with the broad aim of supporting civilian-led governments.
Also Read: Coup in Guinea After Alpha Conde Changed Constitution to Three-Term President
Many US-trained officers seized power in their countries. Most striking is General Abdel Fattah el-Sissi of Egypt, who is believed to be the first general to stage a coup during the course of the US military.
On Sunday, after the Green Berets realized a coup was taking place in Guinea, they headed straight for the US Embassy in Conakry, and immediately suspended the training programme, US Africa Command spokeswoman Kelly Cahalan said.
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