UPDATE - Guinea’s coup leaders install military governors

UPDATES WITH NEW DEVELOPMENTS; CHANGES DECK

By James Tasamba

KIGALI, Rwanda (AA) – Guinea’s coup leaders installed army officers at the top of the country’s eight regions and various administrative districts Tuesday, local media reported, symbolizing their zeal to consolidate power.

State RTG television broadcast footage of General Aboubacar Diakite, who took over from civilian governor Sadou Keita in Kankan, the region known to have been ousted President Alpha Conde's electoral stronghold.

Keita described his replacement by the army general as a “moment of joy and remorse,” the report said.

In the northern Labe province, soldiers reportedly took down a photograph of Conde from a wall of Governor Elhadj Madifing Diane's office as he handed it over to an army officer.

The military junta that overthrew Conde over the weekend pledged Monday to establish a “government of national unity” and assured that there would be no revenge or witch-hunt of former government officials.

Conde was deposed and detained last Sunday by soldiers led by army Colonel Mamadi Doumbouya, who announced the takeover and dissolution of the National Assembly and Constitution on state television.

Conde, 83, was re-elected for a third term in October 2020 in polls marred by violence.

He first came to power in 2010 in a vote seen as the first democratic election since the former French colony gained independence.

The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), which is due to meet Wednesday over the situation in Guinea, condemned the military takeover and threatened sanctions.

Meanwhile, the military junta released a group of political prisoners who were detained during Conde’s administration, according to local media reports.

About 20 prisoners were freed from prison in the capital Conakry, including prominent opposition activists such as opposition leader Abdoulaye Bah.

“We are free at last. It seems like a rebirth when you leave prison. It is exciting to join my family, I hold no hatred against anyone,” Bah was quoted as saying after his release.

Lawyers representing the detainees said that 79 people had been cleared for release following discussions with the military.

Earlier on Monday, the military urged the attorney general to expedite the release of “political detainees.”

Russia, meanwhile, joined the international community in calling for the restoration of Guinean institutions “as soon as possible.”

Russian aluminum giant Rusal has a presence in Guinea, which holds major reserves of bauxite, a mineral used in aluminum production.