Sept. 6, 2021

Guinean government officials are barred from travel until further notice, and must hand over their official vehicles to the military, special forces commander Mamady Doumbouya, who ousted President Alpha Conde on Sunday, told a government gathering on Monday.

Recall that the soldiers who ousted Guinean President Alpha Conde had summoned ministers and top government officials to a meeting earlier on Monday.

A spokesman for the army unit told state television that failure to attend the 1100 GMT meeting would be considered a “rebellion”.

The takeover in the West African nation that holds the world’s largest bauxite reserves, an ore used to produce aluminium, sent prices of the metal skyrocketing to a 10-year high on Monday over fears of further supply disruption in the downstream market. There was no indication of such disruption yet.

Light traffic resumed, and some shops reopened around the main administrative district of Kaloum in Conakry which witnessed heavy gunfire throughout Sunday as the special forces battled soldiers loyal to Conde. A military spokesman said on television that land air borders had also been reopened.

However, uncertainty remains. While the elite unit appeared to have Conde in detention, telling the West African nation on state television that they had dissolved the government and constitution, other branches of the army are yet to publicly comment. read more

The special forces unit is led by former French foreign legionnaire officer, Colonel Mamady Doumbouya, who said on state television on Sunday that “poverty and endemic corruption” had driven his forces to remove Conde from office.

The apparent coup has been met by condemnation from some of Guinea’s strongest allies. The United Nations quickly denounced the takeover, and both the African Union and West Africa’s regional bloc have threatened sanctions.

REUTERS