In the Guinean media, there were reports of the overthrow of President Alfa Sonda in a military coup.
The reports are backed up by a video message from the head of Guinea’s Special Forces (GFS), Colonel Mamadi Dumbui, in which he and a group of military officials claim that they have seized power due to the political and economic crisis in the country.
According to Dumbui, the country’s president has been detained, the constitution has been annulled, the government and state institutions have been disbanded, and the borders are closed.
In another video shared on social networks, Conde himself appears, he is in a room with military personnel and looks haggard.
Earlier on Sunday, shots rang out outside the presidential palace in Guinea’s capital, Conakry.
According to local media reports, a burst of automatic weapons was heard at 08:00 local time in the Calum area, where the presidential palace and administrative buildings are located.
French newspaper Jeune Afrique reported on a coup attempt by Guinean Special Forces (GFS).
It is reported that the head of the GFS, Colonel Mamadi Dumbuya, previously called on the special forces to abandon subordination to the Ministry of Defense and become an independent structure.
Dumbuya was appointed head of the GFS in 2018 after serving in the French Foreign Legion.
The first democratic change of government in Guinea since the country’s independence in 1958 took place in 2010. Alpha Conde won the presidential election in December 2010.
On July 19, 2011, an attempted coup d’état against President Condé was launched in the country, and his residence came under rocket fire.
Condé was re-elected as president in 2015.
Condé’s second term expired in December 2020, and, according to the law, he could not run for a third term.
In March 2020, a constitutional amendment referendum was held, which allowed Condé to be elected for a third time.
The 83-year-old Condé’s candidacy for a third presidential term has been the subject of much debate in the country.
President Condé was re-elected for a third term on October 18, 2020, receiving 59.49 percent of the vote.