Guinean president arrested by army in reported ‘coup’

President Alpha Conde of Guinea was arrested on Sunday April 5, by the military in an apparent coup.

Conde was detained by soldiers led by Commander Mamady Doumbouya, who heads the special forces, local newspaper Guinee7 reported.

The soldiers also said they had dissolved the government and that several government officials were in custody.

Photo shared on social media showed President Alpha Conde being surrounded by soldiers. His whereabouts were unclear.

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

His arrest was announced within hours after heavy gunfire was heard in Guinea’s capital Conakry around the presidential palace on Sunday morning.

The situation remains unclear as Conde’s government said in an earlier statement that an attack on the presidential palace by special forces had been “repulsed.”

The report said soldiers were seen driving at high speeds 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 of the ministries and presidential palace, had been sealed off by heavily armed troops posted around the palace.