Guinean President Alpha Conde ousted in military coup

The long-serving president of Guinea, Alpha Conde was ousted from power on September 5, 2021 in a military coup. The military junta, in a short state television broadcast, announced that they have dissolved the country's government and constitution.

The military junta detained the President after hours of heavy gunfire in Guinea's capital and replaced regional governors with military commanders. They, however, assured that the President has not been harmed and that he was given access to his doctors. 

#UPDATE Army putschists in Guinea said on Sunday they had arrested the president and staged a coup, in the latest political upheaval to roil the impoverished west African country, as the government insisted it had repelled the attackhttps://t.co/uJUiRn2QGr

— AFP News Agency (@AFP) September 5, 2021

The videos that have been shared on social media show Conde being detained by special armed forces. The special armed forces chief Mamady Doumbouya said on state television, "poverty and endemic corruption" had driven his forces to remove President Alpha Conde from office.

He added saying, "We have dissolved government and institutions, we are going to rewrite a constitution together." 

VIDEO: 🇬🇳 Army stages coup in #Guinea.

Guinean special forces have seized power in a coup, arresting the president and imposing an indefinite curfew in the impoverished west African country.https://t.co/0HdEfT8Xrv pic.twitter.com/J84eUt9LHZ

— AFP News Agency (@AFP) September 6, 2021

All of the country's land and air borders have also been closed. The forceful takeover was condemned by the United Nations. 

What we know so far

-The Guinea government has been dissolved in an apparent coup.

-All of the nation's borders are closed.

-The country's constitution was declared invalid.

-A nationwide curfew has been implemented. 

-President Alpha Condé is under military custody. 

What exactly happened?

There was heavy gunfire near the presidential palace in Guinea's capital, Conakry on September 5, 2021. Hours later, the special forces announced on state television that the government has dissolved in an apparent coup d’etat.

Army Col. Mamadi Doumbouya said, "The duty of a soldier is to save the country. “We will no longer entrust politics to one man. We will entrust it to the people."

West African regional bloc condemns coup

The West African regional bloc, ECOWAS, condemned the military coup and threatened to impose sanctions if Conde was not immediately released. The UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres also tweeted that he strongly condemned “any takeover of the government by force of the gun.”

The US State Department also issued a statement saying that it condemns the military seizure of power in Guinea. The statement read that violence and any extra-constitutional measures would only erode Guinea's prospects for peace, stability and prosperity.

The United States also said that these actions could limit the ability of the United States and other nations to support the country.

About Alpha Conde

•Alpha Conde has been in power for almost 11 years, serving as President of Guinea from December 2010 to September 2021.

•He had become the first freely elected President in the nation's history when he had taken the oath of office.  He was re-elected as President in 2015 with about 58 percent vote and again in 2020 with 59.5 percent vote. 

•Alpha Conde succeeded Chad's Idriss Déby as head of the African Union in January 2017 and served for one year. 

•Conde and his son have been implicated in corruption scandals related to mostly the mining industry and he has also been suspected of election rigging.