Guinea capital Conakry rocked by reports of coup attempt. Guinean President Alpha Condé’s fate remains unknown following the release of an unsubstantiated video showing him in the hands of soldiers who claimed to have launched a coup.
The planned takeover, however, has been stopped, according to the defence minister.
This comes after hours of intense shooting near the presidential palace in Conakry, the capital.
Soldiers are guarding the city center’s otherwise desolate streets.
Residents of the central Kaloum area, who are terrified, have obeyed their orders to stay at home.
Soldiers from an elite special forces squad beg President Condé to certify he is uninjured on the footage, but he refuses to react.
They claim that the government has been dissolved and that all land and air borders have been blocked.
According to a military source, the sole bridge connecting the mainland to the Kaloum peninsular, which contains most ministries and the presidential palace, has been closed off, and many soldiers, some highly armed, have been stationed near the palace.
Three soldiers have reportedly been slain, according to unconfirmed sources.
President Condé was re-elected for a controversial third term in office amid violent protests last year.
