CONAKRY (Dispatches) –
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.
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.
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.
“Jeune Afrique” magazine reported, citing sources also reported a coup was attempted in Guinea on Sunday.
It added that the coup was organized by the special task forces led by Doumbouya, who previously served in the French Foreign Legion.
Also, media reports say that the military sealed off access to Guinea’s capital, Conakry.
Earlier, Reuters reported that heavy gunfire was heard near the presidential palace in Conakry, while many soldiers and convoys of military vehicles were patrolling the streets.
The agency also quoted a military source who said that the only bridge connecting the mainland to the Kaloum neighborhood, where the presidential palace and ministries are located, has been sealed off, and that heavily armed soldiers were standing around the palace.
According to AFP, some residents who were reached by telephone in Kaloum reported sustained gunfire and said they had seen many soldiers telling residents to return home and remain inside.
Videos, reportedly of the incident, have emerged online, showing a residential area and shots and voices heard in the background.
Reuters has quoted a senior government official who said that President Alpha Conde was unharmed. The official, however, did not provide further details.
Another video shared online shows armed men in military uniforms standing near their vehicles.