Updated: Videos Reveal How President Alpha Conde's Government was Overthrown
- Guinea's special forces have overthrown President Alpha Conde-led administration in Guinea
- The president was said to have been captured by the soldiers who declared dissolution of his government
- Some video clips showed that the soldiers surrounded the presidential palace with sporadic gunshots before getting hold of the president
- The 83-year old president's sin was term elongation as he won a third term after tinkering with the constitution
Conakry, Guinea - A Guinean Army Colonel, Mamady Doumbouya, has seized control of state television and declared that President Alpha Conde’s government had been dissolved and the West African nation’s borders closed.
The Nation reports that the announcement came after hours of heavy gunfire erupted near the presidential palace.
Source: Getty Images
Legit.ng gathered that after seizing the airwaves, the mutinous Guinean soldiers vowed to restore democracy and gave themselves a name, "The National Committee of Gathering and Development."
A video revealed that the coup was characterised by heavy gunshots around Hotel Kaloum where the now-ousted president was during the attack.
PAY ATTENTION: Subscribe to Digital Talk newsletter to receive must-know business stories and succeed BIG!
According to the report, Conde’s whereabouts were not immediately known as Col. Doumbouya, who spoke to the nation, made no mention of the 83-year-old president, whose popularity has plummeted since he sought a third term last year.
Col. Doumbouya:
“The personalisation of political life is over. We will no longer entrust politics to one man; we will entrust it to the people."
Doumbouya, who has headed a Special Forces unit in the military, said he was acting in the best interests of the nation of over 12.7 million people.
He said:
“The duty of a soldier is to save the country."
BBC News had reported that the fate of Guinea's president, Alpha Condé is unclear after an unverified video showed him in the hands of soldiers, who said they had staged a coup.
The defence minister had, however, been quoted as saying the attempted takeover had been thwarted.
According to the report, this follows hours of heavy gunfire near the presidential palace in the capital, Conakry as soldiers were patrolling the otherwise deserted streets of the city centre.
The report had it that terrified residents of the central Kaloum district have heeded their orders to stay at home.
The video reportedly showed the soldiers from a unit of elite special forces asking President Condé to confirm he is unharmed but he refuses to respond, adding atht all land and air borders have been closed and the government dissolved.
It was learnt that the only bridge connecting the mainland to the Kaloum peninsular, which houses most ministries and the presidential palace, has been sealed off and many soldiers, some heavily armed, have been posted around the palace, a military source told Reuters news agency.
There are unconfirmed reports that three soldiers have been killed.
President Condé was re-elected for a controversial third term in office amid violent protests last year.
CIA director meets with Taliban leader in Kabul over Afghanistan crisis
Meanwhile, Legit.ng had previously reported that the director of the Central Intelligence Agency in the US, William J. Burns met face-to-face with a top Taliban leader in Kabul on Monday, August 23.
It was reported that officials quoted in the report said the two officials may have met due to the looming Tuesday, August 31 deadline issued to the US and its allies to leave Afghanistan by the Taliban.
The Biden administration has been in regular contact with Taliban officials throughout the course of the evacuation process, both on the ground in Afghanistan and in Doha, Qatar.
An unnamed US official told CNN that Taliban co-founder and deputy leader Abdul Ghani Baradar met with Burns in what is now described as the highest-level direct exchange of views since the militant group took control of Kabul.
Source: Legit.ng
