Tanks, soldiers head toward Guinea PM's office after coup announcement

Source: Agencies  |   2008-12-24  |     ONLINE EDITION

A military group seized control of the airwaves in mineral-rich Guinea and declared a coup after the death of the West African country's ruler, one of the continent's last strongmen.

The turmoil raises the prospect of violence flaring in a region where neighbors Sierra Leone, Ivory Coast and Liberia all have been devastated by years of war.

A group calling itself the National Council for Democracy began announcing its takeover on state-run radio and TV yesterday just hours after the death of longtime dictator Lansana Conte 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 group's spokesman, who identified himself as Capt. Moussa Camara.

Dozens of armed soldiers were seen heading toward the prime minister's office inside the country's presidential compound. They appeared less than an hour after Prime Minister Ahmed Tidiane Souare announced in a state broadcast that he was inside his office and his government had not been dissolved.

A reporter later saw two tanks parked near the compound and a third circulating through the capital. A fourth was parked at the headquarters of state-run radio and TV, where transmissions had been cut.

Guinea's Army Chief of Staff Gen. Diarra Camara said the motives of the coup leaders were unclear.

"I think they are in a minority. They are not unanimously backed by the army for the time being. I don't know their real objectives," Camara told French international news television channel France 24.

In his takeover announcement, the coup leader said presidential elections would be held within 60 days and an interim president and prime minister would be appointed. The coup leaders met late Tuesday to decide who would head the interim government, said Aboubacar Sompare, president of the National Assembly.

Later, Moussa Camara announced a 30-member interim government on state-run TV -- including 29 military leaders and one civilian. He said more details would be released Wednesday.

Sompare had said earlier that Camara was among three candidates being considered to head the government, along with army chief Toto Camara and Col. Sekouba Konate, who heads an elite army unit. All three names were on the spokesman's list.

The US Embassy in Conakry said there had been no reports of fighting or casualties "but the situation remains fluid and uncertain at this time."

"It's obviously a troubled region and with a history that hasn't always seen those kinds of smooth transitions of power. And so we're keeping an eye on it," White House deputy press secretary Tony Fratto said.

Conte, who was believed to be in his 70s, was only Guinea's second president since it gained independence from France a half-century ago.

He was among the last of the so-called "African Big Men" who came to power by the gun and resisted the democratic tide sweeping the continent. Conte's death Monday leaves a dwindling group, including Gabon's Omar Bongo, who took power in 1967, and Robert Mugabe, who has ruled Zimbabwe since it gained independence in 1980.

Guinea is the world's largest producer of bauxite, used to produce aluminum, and also has gold, diamonds and iron ore deposits. The nation, located at the confluence of several West African rivers, could generate enough electricity to power the region, some analysts say.

But Guinea's economy has rapidly deteriorated and its 10 million people are among the world's poorest. A food exporter at independence, Guinea started importing food as it became crippled by corruption, inflation and high unemployment.

While Guinea has managed to avoid the catastrophic wars that ravaged its West African neighbors, regional experts have warned for years that Conte's death or ouster could send it into turmoil.