Coup led by former French legionary overthrows Alpha Condé in Guinea
The Guinean government was dissolved, and Alpha Condé was arrested, announced Colonel Mamady Doumbouya, commander of the Special Forces Group (GPS). The Defense Ministry claims, however, that the attack on the presidency has been “repulsed”.
After the information on the shots heard on September 5 in the center of Conakry, the Guinean capital, the Guineenews site reports from “credible sources” that President Alpha Condé was arrested by the special forces led by Commander Mamady Doumbouyam, a former French legionary.
Earlier, a senior government official had said that Alpha Condé was safe and sound, without giving details, according to Reuters.
The media Eye of Africa posted on Twitter photos showing the President surrounded by soldiers from the Special Forces Group (GPS) led by Lieutenant-Colonel Mamady Doumbouya.
Heavy gunfire rang out near the presidential palace in central Conakry on Sunday morning, and convoys of vehicles carrying troops plied the streets of Guinea’s capital, according to a Reuters reporter on the spot and videos shared on social media.
Access to the only bridge connecting the mainland to the Kaloum Peninsula, one of the city’s districts, which houses the presidential palace and most of the ministries, has been blocked, according to a military source, and numerous soldiers, some heavily armed, were deployed around the presidency.
Images showing heavy fire from automatic weapons or military vehicles approaching the central bank’s headquarters, near the presidency, were relayed on social networks without being able to verify them immediately.
A journalist from the agency on the spot saw two lines of armored vehicles and pick-ups carrying soldiers heading towards the autonomous port of Conakry, also located not far from the presidential palace.
Alpha Condé, who is 83 years old, was re-elected last October for a third five-year term following a reform of the Constitution strongly criticized by the opposition.
Several dozen people died in violence linked to the poll.
