Special forces in Guinea said on Sunday that they have arrested President Alpha Condé, suspended the constitution, dissolved the government and closed land and air borders. The fate of Guinea's President Condé is unclear after an unverified video showed him in the hands of soldiers, who said they had staged a coup. The developments followed hours of heavy gunfire near the presidential place in the capital Conakry. There are reports that different military factions are fighting each other. However, the defense minister has been quoted as saying the attempted takeover had been thwarted. Soldiers are patrolling the otherwise deserted streets of the city center. Terrified residents of the central Kaloum district have heeded their orders to stay at home. In the video, the soldiers from a unit of elite special forces ask President Condé to confirm he is unharmed but he refuses to respond. They say that all land and air borders have been closed and the government dissolved. The only bridge connecting the mainland to the Kaloum peninsular, which houses most ministries and the presidential palace, has been sealed off. 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. Later, a Guinean army colonel is said to have seized control of state television Sunday and declared that President Condé's government had been dissolved. The dramatic developments Sunday bore all the hallmarks of a West African coup d'etat. After seizing the airwaves, the mutinous soldiers vowed to restore democracy and gave themselves a name: The National Committee of Gathering and Development. Col. Mamadi 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. "The personalization of political life is over. We will no longer entrust politics to one man, we will entrust it to the people," Doumbouya said. 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. "The duty of a soldier is to save the country," he said. Conde has faced mounting criticism ever since he sought a third term in office last year, saying the two-term limit didn't apply to him because of a constitutional referendum he had put forth. He was ultimately reelected, but the move prompted violent street demonstrations in which the opposition said dozens were killed. Condé came to power in 2010 in the country's first democratic election since independence from France in 1958. Many saw his presidency as a fresh start for the country, which has been mired by decades of corrupt, authoritarian rule. In 2011, he narrowly survived an assassination attempt after gunmen surrounded his home overnight and pounded his bedroom with rockets. Rocket-propelled grenades landed inside the compound and one of his bodyguards was killed. — Agencies
