Guinea coup sparks swift condemnation

International organizations including the United Nations and the African Union, as well as some governments, condemned the military coup in Guinea on Sunday and called for the release of President Alpha Conde.

Earlier on Sunday, heavy gunfire was heard in the district of Kaloum in downtown Conakry, where the Presidential Palace and several ministerial departments are located.

Later that day, Lieutenant-Colonel Mamady Doumbouya announced on national television that his forces had arrested the president and dissolved the government and national institutions.

For their appearance on state television, members of the junta were wearing berets and dressed in fatigues, with no weapons apparent.

A video posted on social media showed Conde sitting on a sofa surrounded by troops. The 83-year-old leader refused to answer a question from one soldier about whether he had been mistreated. The time and place that the video was shot remain unclear.

The country's borders were closed and its Constitution was declared invalid in the announcement.

The nation of around 13 million people－one of the world's poorest countries despite boasting significant mineral resources－has long been beset by political instability.

One Western diplomat in Conakry who declined to be named suggested the unrest may have started after the dismissal of a senior commander in the special forces－provoking some of its highly trained members to rebel.

The putsch follows a long period of political tension in Guinea, first spurred by Conde's highly contested bid for a third presidential term last year.

The most recent presidential poll in Guinea, in October 2020, was marred by violence and accusations of electoral fraud.

Conde won a controversial third term, but only after pushing through a new Constitution in March 2020 allowing him to sidestep the country's two-term limit.

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, the European Union, the AU and the Economic Community of West African States, or ECOWAS, all condemned the coup and demanded that the rebels release Conde.

Guterres posted 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."

The 55-member AU in a statement also called for the immediate release of Conde.

Response being mulled

Felix Tshisekedi, president of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, who is also the current AU chairman, and Moussa Faki Mahamat, the AU Commission chairman, further called for the AU Peace and Security Council to meet urgently to examine the situation in Guinea and take appropriate measures.

The ECOWAS, through its acting president, Ghana's leader Nana Akufo-Addo, threatened sanctions if Guinea's constitutional order was not restored.

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin said on Monday that Beijing opposes takeover of power by force and called for Conde's immediate release, adding that China is closely following the situation and has noted the remarks by the AU and the ECOWAS.

China hopes relevant parties will remain calm and exercise restraint, keep in mind the fundamental interests of Guinea and its people, address relevant issues through consultation and safeguard domestic peace and stability, he told a news conference.

France, Nigeria and the United States also condemned the coup.

Xinhua, agencies, Zhou Jinin Beijing and Edith Mutethyain Nairobi, Kenya, contributed to this story.