Death of Guinea’s president sparks coup

A GROUP of soldiers has launched a coup in the west African state of Guinea, hours after the death of 74-year-old strongman President Lansana Conte.

The mineral-rich country was left in turmoil as the coup plotters said they had suspended the constitution and dissolved all state institutions while the government insisted it was still in charge and ordered them to stand down.

“The institutions of the republic have shown themselves to be incapable of resolving the crises which have been confronting the country,” Captain Moussa Dadis Camara, the coup’s frontman, announced on state-run Radio Conakry.

However Prime Minister Ahmed Tidiane Souare urged the coup plotters to back down, saying he was still in charge.

“I do not know these people who have spoken. We are trying to settle this question of national importance,” he told French radio.

“I am sure that they will see reason. They have not used force. There has been no threat against anybody.”

Parliamentary speaker Aboubacar Sompare, who under the constitution should replace Conte, urged soldiers to oppose the insurrection.

“This is a setback for our country and I hope that it won’t be accepted, since it’s a minority of soldiers and officers who have taken this action. The vast majority is loyal,” he said.

Conte, who ruled the impoverished but mineral-rich country with an iron fist for 24 years after also taking power in a coup, died late on Monday after “a long illness”, state television announced.

Soon after his death was announced, army officers summoned government ministers and senior officials to a base near Guinea’s international airport “to guarantee their security”, according to a statement read on state radio.

The officers ordered the population to “stay at home and refrain from all acts of vandalism and looting” and said a military-civilian council had “taken effective power”.

The African Union said it would hold an emergency meeting of its Peace and Security Council to discuss the situation in Guinea.

“If the army coup is confirmed, it is a flagrant violation of the constitution and of African legality which absolutely forbids unconstitutional changes of government,” said Peace and Security Commissioner Ramtane Lamamra.

The coup attempt prompted Ernest Koroma, president of neighbouring Sierra Leone, to summon an emergency meeting of his political and military leaders.

“What has always been a problem for us is that transitions in Guinea are never, never smooth and therefore for us we are going to watch the Guinean situation closely,” Sierra Leone information minister Ibrahim Ben Kargbo said.

The European Union also condemned the attempted putsch and called for “free and transparent elections” to choose Conte’s successor to be held quickly.

In his radio statement, Camara said Guinea was in a state of “deep despair” and it was vital that there was an upturn in the economy.

“Guinea celebrated the 50th anniversary of its independence on October 2 classified as one of the poorest countries on the planet,” he said.

“With our vast natural resources, Guinea should be much more prosperous.”

It was not immediately clear whether Camara was speaking on behalf of the army’s high command or as the head of some kind of splinter faction.