In a short broadcast on Guinea’s national television on Sunday, soldiers who staged an insurrection in the capital declared they had abolished the constitution and the government in an apparent coup.
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A yet-to-identified soldier, surrounded by eight other armed soldiers and wrapped in Guinea’s national flag, said they planned to form a transitional government and would provide more details later.
There was a heavy shooting on Sunday morning erupting outside the presidential palace in Conakry, with various sources claiming that the violence was caused by an elite national army unit led by Mam ady Doumbouya, a former French legionnaire.
The soldier commented after footage circulated on social media that showed President Alpha Conde surrounded in a room by army special troops, which Reuters could not verify. The defense ministry said the attempted insurgency had been put down.
“The presidential guard, supported by the loyalist and republican defense and security forces, contained the threat and repelled the group of assailants. Security and combing operations are continuing to restore order and peace,” the ministry said.
Earlier, footage circulated on social media showing military vehicles scouring Conkary’s streets, and one military source claimed that the single bridge connecting the mainland to the Kaloum neighborhood, which houses the palace and most government ministries, had been closed.
The palace was surrounded by a large number of soldiers, some of whom were heavily armed, according to the source.
