Troops take to streets amid rumours of Guinea coup

Published on Tuesday 23 December 2008 20:42

BRITONS have been advised to stay away from "highly volatile" Guinea after an apparent coup d'etat in the West African republic following the death of its dictator president.

The Foreign Office hardened its travel advice to warn against "all but essential travel", after a man in military uniform announced on television that the mineral-rich nation's constitution had been suspended.

A mutiny by the army and a police strike in the country earlier this year both resulted in deaths. The announcement of the apparent military takeover came just six hours after officials declared the death of Guinea's dictator, Lansana Conte.

Yesterday, however, the prime minister insisted he remained in charge, with witnesses reporting dozens of armed soldiers heading toward his office inside the country's presidential compound.

The troops' allegiance was not immediately apparent, but they appeared less than an hour after prime minister Ahmed Tidiane Souare announced in a state broadcast that he was inside his office, and that his government had not been dissolved.

Two tanks were parked near the compound and a third was rumbling through the seaside capital of Conakry. A fourth was parked at the headquarters of state-run radio and TV, where transmissions had been cut.

Earlier yesterday , a group calling itself the National Council for Democracy began transmitting news of its "takeover" just hours after longtime dictator Lansana Conte's death was made public.

"The government is dissolved. The institutions of the republic are dissolved. ... From this moment on, the council is taking charge of the destiny of the Guinean people," said the coup leader, who identified himself as Captain Moussa Camara.

Officials said negotiations were being held at the main Alpha Yaya Diallo military base in Conakry's suburbs, between soldiers and officers who supported the coup and those who wanted to stay loyal to constitutional procedure. The legislature requires that National Assembly president Aboubacar Sompare should take over as interim head of state, following Mr Conte's death on Monday.

Residents said shots were heard from the neighbourhood of the camp. But despite the presence of heavily-armed military patrols, the streets of Conakry seemed calm.

Mr Conte, who was believed to be in his seventies, was only Guinea's second president since it gained independence from France 50 years ago. The diabetic general's unpopularity was reflected in revolts by soldiers and at least two attempts to oust him. He took power in a 1984 military coup after the death of his predecessor.

Tony Fratto, a White House spokesman, said the US was working with other countries in the region and the African Union on the issue. The EU called on political and military leaders to "respect constitutional measures to ensure a peaceful transition" via elections.

Guinea has half the world's known reserves of bauxite, the ore used to produce aluminum, and it has deposits of gold, diamonds and iron ore.