A coup d’état took place in Guinea on Sunday, seizing power by special forces of the armed forces that detained President Alfa Conde in a West African country and announced a commanding hour indefinitely.
“We have decided to suspend the constitution after the president’s arrest,” an Armed Forces officer said in a video sent to AFP.
Guinea’s land and air borders have been closed, but the government has been fired, the officer said.
In a country of 13 million people, the political situation has been unstable for some time.
Shooting was heard on Sunday in the Kaluma district of the capital, Conakry, where the government quarter is located.
The coup was due to mismanagement by the government, Lieutenant Colonel Mamady Dumbuja, Commander of the Guinean Army Special Forces, said on television.
The unrest in the armed forces could have been caused by the suspension of a high commander of the special forces, a Western diplomat admitted in Conakry.
The US State Department has condemned the coup, warning that US support for Guinea could be restricted.
UN Secretary-General Antoniu Guteresre also condemned the coup and demanded the immediate release of the president.
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