UPDATE 2 - Guinean forces announce detention of president, dissolution of government

ADDS CONDEMNATION FROM AFRICAN UNION, ECOWAS

By James Tasamba and Fatma Esma Arslan

KIGALI, Rwanda/DAKAR, Senegal (AA) - Guinea’s president was detained Sunday by soldiers led by an army colonel, who announced the move on state television.

Addressing the nation on public broadcaster RTG, Col. Mamadi Doumbouya said President Alpha Conde is safe and in custody.

Vowing to restore democracy in the West African nation, Doumbouya said the National Committee for Rally and Development, the name the troops had given themselves, would dissolve the country's constitution and government while also closing its land and air borders for a week.

Draped in a Guinean flag, the colonel was flanked by a half dozen other soldiers in uniform, underlining that "the duty of a soldier is to save the country."

He accused Conde of personalizing politics and not doing enough to improve the people’s economic and social conditions.

"We will no longer entrust politics to one man. We will entrust it to the people," he said, claiming that he was "acting in the best interests of the nation."

Footage of Conde being detained by special forces circulated earlier in the day on social media.

Conde, 83, was elected to 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.

His detention was reported in local media within hours of heavy gunfire being heard in the capital Conakry around the presidential palace on Sunday morning.

The report also said that soldiers were seen driving through the capital near the presidential palace and urging residents to stay home.

A military source told local media that the only bridge connecting the mainland to the Kaloum neighborhood, which houses most ministries and the presidential palace, had been sealed off by heavily armed troops.

Access to the greater Conakry area remained blocked by soldiers from Coyah, a city located 50 kilometers (31 miles) from the capital.

- Condemnation

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres "strongly condemned" the power grab on Twitter.

"I am personally following the situation in Guinea very closely. I strongly condemn any takeover of the government by force of the gun and call for the immediate release of President Alpha Conde," he said.

The African Union and the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) also condemned the coup.

The African Union in a statement called for the immediate release of President Conde.

It also called on the African Union Peace and Security Council to hold an emergency meeting.

In a written statement, ECOWAS noted that Conde's physical integrity should be respected.

It also called for the immediate release of Conde and those detained along with him.

ECOWAS also urged parties to immediately establish constitutional order in the country.

Conde narrowly survived an assassination attempt in 2011 after gunmen raided his home and fired rockets at his bedroom and other parts of the compound, killing one of his bodyguards.

*Zehra Nur Duz contributed to this story from Ankara