The African Union condemns the military coup in Guinea Photos and videos of the arrest of the President

The special forces officers who took power Sunday in Guinea and the arrested president Alpha Condé have announced a national curfew “until further notice” and the replacement of regional governors with military personnel.

Officers also claimed in a statement broadcast on national television that a meeting of Conde government ministers and other senior officials will be held on Monday at 11:00 GMT in the capital, Conakry.

For its part, Paris on Sunday evening condemned the “attempt to seize power by force” in Guinea, calling for the “immediate and unconditional release of President Condé”, according to a statement released by the French Foreign Ministry.

The statement states that Paris “joins the appeal of the Economic Community of West African States to condemn the attempt to seize power” on Sunday and “to demand a return to constitutional order”.

On Sunday, the African Union condemned the takeover by the army in Guinea and demanded the immediate release of President Condé.

A statement issued by the EU presidency, the president of the Democratic Republic of Congo, Felix Tshisekedi, and the president of the African Union Commission, Moussa Faki Mahamat, invited the Council to pace and Union security to hold an emergency meeting to discuss the situation and take appropriate action, citing Reuters.

On Sunday, the Guinean special forces confirmed the arrest of President Conde and the “dissolution” of state institutions, in a video they directed to an AFP correspondent, while the defense ministry announced that the attack on the presidential residence had been rejected.

And one of the coup leaders, in military uniform, he said in the video, released on social without being broadcast on national television: “After the president’s arrest . we decided to dissolve the existing constitution and institutions, and we also decided to dissolve the government and close the land and air borders.”

The coup leaders aired a video of President Conde being arrested, as Conde, sitting on a sofa and wearing jeans and a shirt, refused to answer when asked if he had been mistreated.

Activists on social media they released footage showing Conde surrounded by a group of military personnel.

And Jeune Afrique magazine reported that the coup was led by elements of the army’s elite special-task unit created in 2018, noting that thearea in where the presidential palace is located has been subject to intense bombing since this morning.

The press indicated that the leader of the coup leaders is Mamadi Domboi, a former member of the French Foreign Legion.

THE media they reported that Domboe announced the dissolution of the government, the suspension of the constitution and the closure of the country’s borders.

By Conakry (archive)

On Sunday morning, in the center of the capital of Guinea, Conakry, the sound of heavy machine gun shots was heard, while a large number of soldiers were seen on the streets.

There was no explanation at the time for the sudden tension in the center of Conakry, where the presidential seat, state institutions and commercial offices were located, and residents in the Kalom area (which includes the center of the capital), contacted by the AFP, they spoke of “heavy shootings. They reported seeing a number of soldiers ordering residents to return” to their homes and not to leave them.

In turn, the Reuters news agency quoted eyewitnesses as saying that “a heavy shooting took place in downtown Conakry.” A military source told Reuters that the only bridge connecting the mainland to the Kalom district has been closed and many soldiers, some of them heavily armed, were stationed around the presidential palace.

The videos broadcast on the social media they showed heavy gunfire in the whole city and vehicles carrying soldiers approaching the central bank near the palace.

Guinean army soldiers (archive)

During the decade of the Condé government, Guinea experienced sustained economic growth thanks to its wealth of bauxite, iron ore, gold and diamonds, but few of its citizens enjoyed the benefits.

Last October, 83-year-old Condé won a third term as president in an election marked by violent protests in which dozens of people were killed.