EU, UN, US condemn the coup d’état in Guinea
EURACTIV.com with Reuters
https://www.euractiv.com/section/develo ... in-guinea/
Videos shared on social media showed Condé in a room surrounded by army special forces. [Twitter]
The EU, the UN and the United States on Sunday (5 September) condemned what appears to be a military coup d’état in Guinea.
Special forces soldiers appeared on Sunday to have ousted Guinea’s long-serving president, telling the nation they had dissolved its government and constitution and closed its land and air borders.
EU foreign affairs chief Josep Borrell tweeted.I condemn the taking over by force in Guinea and I call for the immediate release of President Alpha Condé,
As the United Nations condemned any takeover by force and the West African region’s economic bloc threatened reprisals, the elite army unit’s head, Mamady Doumbouya, said
had driven his forces to remove President Condé from office.poverty and endemic corruption
Doumbouya – a former French foreign legionnaire – said on state television, draped in Guinea’s national flag and surrounded by eight other armed soldiers.We have dissolved government and institutions,
Gunfire erupted near the presidential palace in the capital, Conakry, on Sunday morning. Hours later, videos shared on social media, which Reuters could not immediately authenticate, showed Condé in a room surrounded by army special forces.We are going to rewrite a constitution together.
The US State Department issued a statement headed,
and said:On the military seizure of power in Guinea,
It said violence and any extra-constitutional measures would only erode Guinea’s prospects for peace, stability and prosperity, and added:The United States condemns today’s events in Conakry.
Military sources said the president was taken to an undisclosed location and that the forces commanded by Doumbouya – whom one of the sources, a close colleague, described as calm and reserved by nature – had made several other arrests.These actions could limit the ability of the United States and Guinea’s other international partners to support the country as it navigates a path toward national unity and a brighter future for the Guinean people.
They included senior government officials, the sources said.
The junta that appreared to have seized power later said that Condé was not harmed, his wellbeing was guaranteed and he was being given access to his doctors.
Outgoing ministers and heads of institutions were invited to a meeting on Monday morning in parliament, they said in a statement read on the state broadcaster.
the group said referring to its chosen name, the National Rally and Development Committee (CNRD).Any failure to attend will be considered as a rebellion against the CNRD,
Guinea’s main opposition leader, Cellou Dalein Diallo, denied rumours that he was among those detained.
Taxes and protests
Condé won a third term in October after changing the constitution to allow him to stand again, triggering violent protests from the opposition.
In recent weeks the government has sharply increased taxes to replenish state coffers and raised the price of fuel by 20%, causing widespread frustration.
By Sunday evening it was not clear if Doumbouya had taken full control, the defence ministry having issued a statement saying an attack on the presidential palace had been repelled.
But United Nations Secretary General Antonio Guterres said he strongly condemned
and called for Condé’s immediate release.any takeover of the government by force
The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) threatened to impose sactions after what its chairman, Ghana’s President Nana Akufo-Addo, called an attempted coup.
The African Union said it would meet urgently and take “appropriate measures” while the foreign ministry in Nigeria, the region’s dominant power, called for a return to constitutional order.
Videos shared on social media had earlier shown military vehicles patrolling Conakry, and one military source said the only bridge connecting the mainland to the Kaloum neighbourhood, where the palace and most government ministries are located, had been sealed off.
‘The rich were taunting us’
By mid-afternoon, when the shooting had stopped, residents were venturing back onto the streets of the capital to celebrate the uprising’s apparent success.
A Reuters witness saw pick-up trucks and military vehicles accompanied by motorcyclists honking their horns and cheering onlookers.
a woman shouted from her balcony.Guinea is free! Bravo,
Alexis Arieff, at the United States Congressional Research Service, said that, while mutinies and coups were nothing new in West Africa, the region had seen
in recent years.major democratic backsliding
Both Condé and Ivory Coast’s leader have moved the legislative goalposts to extend the clock on their presidencies in the past year, while Mali has experienced two military coups and Chad one.
Guinea has seen sustained economic growth during Condé’s decade in power thanks to its bauxite, iron ore, gold and diamond wealth.
But few of its citizens have seen the benefits, and critics say his government has used restrictive criminal laws to discourage dissent, while ethnic divisions and endemic graft have sharpened political rivalries.
Alassane Diallo, a resident of Conakry, told Reuters.While the president was proclaiming everywhere that he wanted to govern differently by annihilating corruption, the embezzlement of public funds increased. The new rich were taunting us,
It is all this that made it easier for the military.
_____________________
Col. Mamady Doumbouya (red beret), with his US "friends". America continues to, overtly & covertly, mastermind regime change in Africa. SAD! Another step backward!
Futurical: @Futurical
Fascinating to see a picture of US Africa Command soldiers, with the Guinea (Conakry) coup leader Col. Mamadi Doumbouya. The Commandoes that did the coup were heavily trained by the French and the Americans, via AFRICOM, mainly in Burkina Faso.
#CongoIsBleeding ✔: @kambale
__________________
Who is Guinea's coup leader? Colonel Mahamady Doumbouya
An undated handout photo made available by Guinea military shows Guinean Colonel Mamady Doumbouya in Guinea (issued 05 September 2021)
BBC Monitoring
https://www.bbc.com/news/live/world-africa-47639452
Special Forces Group Commander Colonel Mahamady Doumbouya confirmed the takeover of power from President Alpha Condé on Sunday on state TV and pledged to oversee a peaceful transition.
• Little is known about Col Doumbouya's early life, except that he is a Malinke like President Condé and hails from Guinea's eastern Kankan Region.
• He was based in Forecariah, western Guinea, where he served under the bureau of territorial surveillance and the general intelligence services.
• Col Doumbouya reportedly attended the War College in Paris, France.
• He has 15 years of military experience that includes operational missions in Afghanistan, Ivory Coast, Djibouti, Central African Republic and close protection in Israel, Cyprus, UK and Guinea.
• The colonel is said to have "brilliantly completed" the operational protection specialist training at the International Security Academy in Israel, the unit commanders' training course at Senegal's Infantry Application School, the staff officer training in Gabon's Staff College of Libreville (EEML) and at the War College in Paris.
• He served as a legionary in the French army until 2018 when President Conde asked him to return to Guinea to lead the GFS, established that year.
