According to Reuters sources, an elite unit led by a former member of the French Foreign Legion Mamada Doumbouya is behind the uprising.
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According to AFP, the coup plotters have expanded footage showing that they have President Condé in their hands. In the video, Condé refuses to answer the question of whether he is being mistreated.
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There has been heavy fire from the vicinity of the presidential palace since the early morning, which has been going on for hours, the AP agency wrote, referring to eyewitnesses. The situation raises security concerns in a West African country with a long history of military coups and coup attempts.
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The Guinean Ministry of Defense issued a statement claiming that the Presidential Guard and other security forces “managed the threat and repulsed the group of attackers.” According to him, “extensive security operations to restore order and peace” continue.
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However, the Ministry of Defense’s statement could not be independently verified. State television broadcast music and other programs, but remained silent about the shooting in the center of the capital Conakry all morning, the AP noted. However, according to Reuters, the rebels appeared briefly on television; until then, the insurgents’ statements circulated on social networks.
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Condé has faced growing criticism since opting for a third term in the highest office last year on the grounds that he was not subject to constitutional restrictions on a maximum of two seats, due to a constitutional referendum he held last spring. He was eventually elected, but the move sparked violent street demonstrations in which, according to the opposition, dozens of people were killed. Eighty-three-year-old Condé could remain in power until 2030 if he wins another election in 2025, the AP reminded.
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Condé first came to power in 2010 following the first democratic elections since independence from France in 1958. Many saw his election as president a new start for the country after decades of corrupt authoritarian governments.
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Opponents of the president, on the other hand, think that the head of state has failed to improve the lives of the country’s population, most of whom live in poverty, despite the country’s mineral wealth.
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Condé survived an assassination attempt in 2011 after gunmen surrounded his house at night and rocked his bedroom. The missiles killed one of the president’s bodyguards.
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