Arthur Greene
The leader of the army which overthrew Guinea’s President Alpha Condé on Sunday has announced that a new government will be formed within weeks.
The country’s ousted president is currently being detained by the military, and his fate remains unclear.
Following hours of gunfire on the streets of the capital Conakry on Sunday, the coup’s leader and head of the country’s special forces, Colonel Mamadi Doumbouya, gave a state broadcast.
He announced that Condé’s government had been dissolved, the country’s borders had been closed and a 24-hour curfew will be imposed.
On Monday, Doumbouya gathered the country’s ministers and institutional heads to a meeting. They were warned that failure to attend would be seen as an act of rebellion, reports the Guardian.
Ministers who served in Condé’s government were promised that no witch hunt would take place.
The coup was met with widespread condemnation abroad.
“I strongly condemn any takeover of the government by force of the gun and call for the immediate release of President Alpha Condé,” UN Secretary-General António Guterres tweeted.
Feelings towards the coup within Guinea, however, were mixed.
When Doumbouya announced the military takeover, hundreds of residents were pictured celebrating on the streets of Conakry.
Condé, 83, was elected to scenes of jubilation in the country’s first democratic transferral of power in 2010.
However, human rights abuses have been reported under his watch and he has been accused of imprisoning his critics.
His re-election for a third term last year was initially illegal under the country’s constitution, but he had the law rewritten in order to stay in power. Dozens were killed protesting Condé’s re-election.
