West African bloc calls for civilian rule in Guinea as junta’s No. 2 takes control

West Africa bloc calls for civilian rule in Guinea

CONAKRY, Guinea — A regional African bloc on Sunday called for Guinea to return to civilian rule as the junta’s No. 2 assumed control of the country following an assassination attempt on their leader.

Gen. Sekouba Konate, the vice president of the military junta, rushed back to Guinea’s capital from overseas in order to take charge following a Thursday assassination attempt on the junta’s president.

Guinea’s military leader Capt. Moussa “Dadis” Camara was airlifted Friday to Morocco for emergency surgery.

Konate’s arrival was met with a call from ECOWAS, a regional bloc of West African states, to immediately hand over power to civilians.

The statement issued by ECOWAS on Sunday called on the junta to put in place a transitional authority and to organize elections, in which no members of the junta will be allowed to run.

The junta seized power in a coup last December. Initially the coup leaders promised elections within 60 days, but Camara later said the 32-member junta would hold power for about two years.

Guinea, whose soil is rich in gold, diamonds and half the world’s reserves of the raw material used to make aluminum, has been under military rule for the past 25 years.

In September, the presidential guard opened fire on unarmed protesters who were calling for the junta to step down, killing at least 157 people, according to local human rights groups.

The army is deeply divided and many have feared that the military could fracture, dragging the country into a bloodbath.

The assassination attempt followed an argument between Camara and Abubakar “Toumba” Diakite, head of the presidential guard, over who would take the fall for the September massacre, two government officials and a retired diplomat said.

Camara suffered a bullet wound to the head when Toumba opened fire during an altercation inside one of the capital’s barracks.

The attempted assassination revealed the precarious nature of the Guinean army, which is said to be divided into camps loyal to individual army strongmen.

Since seizing power, the junta has laid waste to the country’s economy, already one of the poorest countries in Africa. In September, Guinea defaulted on its repayment of a loan to the World Bank causing the bank to freeze the country’s account, said a bank official who spoke on the condition of anonymity because he is not authorized to speak to the press.

The cost of basic staples like rice and cooking oil have spiked, causing economic hardship.

At least 100 families whose relatives attended the Sept. 28 protest calling for Camara to step down have still not recovered the bodies of their relatives. An investigation by U.S.-based Human Rights Watch found that the military commandeered the capital’s morgues and seized bodies, transporting them to military bases and hiding them, presumably in mass graves, in an effort to cover up the extent of the army-led massacre.

ECOWAS had imposed an arms embargo on the military junta following the massacre.

The European Union also imposed an arms embargo and visa ban on Guinea’s military leaders in October to punish them for the killings at the pro-democracy rally.