This archive report was first published on 6 September 2021.
Guinea's future hangs in the balance as a new military junta summoned the outgoing cabinet on Monday, a day after toppling President Alpha Conde.
Elite troops led by Lieutenant-colonel Mamady Doumbouya ordered outgoing ministers and institutional leaders to gather at 1100 GMT at parliament in the capital Conakry, warning that any refusal to attend would be considered a rebellion.
On Sunday, special forces arrested 83-year-old President Alpha Conde, declared they were scrapping the constitution, and imposed a curfew, shutting land borders and dissolving the government.
Discontent had been growing for months over a flatlining Covid-hit economy and the leadership of Conde, who became Guinea's first democratically elected president in 2010.
Five years later, he was re-elected, but in 2020 he sparked fury after ramming through changes to the constitution enabling him to sidestep a two-term limit.
"We are no longer going to entrust politics to one man, we are going to entrust politics to the people," the coup leader said in a televised address on Sunday.
"Guinea is beautiful. We don't need to rape Guinea anymore; we just need to make love to her."
— Lieutenant-colonel Mamady Doumbouya, coup leader He promised to launch a "national consultation to open an inclusive and calm transition." Guinea's 13 million people are among the poorest in the world, despite the country being a treasure trove of minerals from bauxite and iron ore to gold and diamonds. It has rarely known stability since declaring independence from France in 1958 and bloody repression is entrenched. Conde was accused of following that same path towards authoritarianism in the final years of his rule. Dozens of people were killed during demonstrations against his bid for a third term and hundreds more were arrested. International leaders condemned the latest bout of turmoil in West Africa, a region where many countries are struggling with poverty, inequality and jihadist bloodshed. "Violence and any extra-constitutional measures will only erode Guinea’s prospects for peace, stability, and prosperity," US State Department spokesperson Ned Price said, urging all parties to abide by the rule of law.
