A group of soldiers who ousted Guinea’s President Alpha Condé from power on Sunday have ordered the country’s cabinet to attend a mandatory meeting on Monday.
Those who refuse to attend the 11:00 GMT meeting will be considered rebels, a statement on state TV said.
President Condé remains in detention, but his fate is unclear.
The UN, African Union, and regional body Ecowas have condemned the coup and called for a return to civilian rule.
“I strongly condemn any takeover of the government by force of the gun and call for the immediate release of President Alpha Conde,” the UN secretary-general António Guterres tweeted.
The soldiers announced the dissolution of the constitution, closure of the borders and a nationwide curfew.
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In a broadcast on state TV on Sunday night, they said regional governors had been replaced by military commanders, and the ousted 83-year-old president was safe but in detention.
The head of the country’s special forces, Col Mamady Doumbouya, said his soldiers had seized power because they want to end rampant corruption and mismanagement.
President Condé was re-elected for a controversial third term in office amid violent protests last year.
The veteran opposition leader was first elected in 2010 in the country’s first democratic transfer of power. Despite overseeing some economic progress, he has since been accused of presiding over numerous human rights abuses and harassment of his critics.
In other news: Coup in Guinea: Soldiers say constitution, gov’t dissolved
Soldiers who staged an uprising in Guinea’s capital on Sunday said in a short broadcast on the West African nation’s state television that they have dissolved the constitution and the government in an apparent coup, Reuters reports.
An unidentified soldier, draped in Guinea’s national flag and surrounded by eight other armed soldiers, said they planned to form a transitional government and would give further details later after coup
Heavy gunfire broke out near the presidential palace in the capital Conakry on Sunday morning, with several sources saying an elite national army unit led by a former French legionnaire, Mamady Doumbouya, was behind the unrest.
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The soldier spoke after videos shared on social media – which Reuters could not immediately authenticate – showed President Alpha Conde surrounded in a room by army special forces.
The defence ministry said the attemped insurgency had been put down.
“The presidential guard, supported by the loyalist and republican defence and security forces, contained the threat and repelled the group of assailants,” it said in a statement.
“Security and combing operations are continuing to restore order and peace.”
Earlier, videos shared on social media showed military vehicles patrolling Conkary’s streets and one military source said the only bridge connecting the mainland to the Kaloum neighbourhood, which houses the palace and most government ministries, had been sealed off.
Many soldiers, some heavily armed, were posted around the palace, the source added.
Source: BBC
