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Coup leaders tighten grip in Guinea
AFP - Thursday, December 25
CONAKRY (AFP) - - A military junta tightened its grip on Guinea on Wednesday, calling for a nationwide curfew and ruling out elections for two years as its leader paraded through the capital with hundreds of troops.
The putschists issued a statement on Wednesday declaring that Captain Moussa Dadis Camara, a mid-ranking officer who had previously been head of the military's fuel supplies unit, was now in charge.
In an apparent show of strength, several hundreds soldiers backing Camara left the main military base near the international airport and began parading through Conakry, an AFP correspondent said.
They stopped at another military base, Camp Kundara, which houses the presidential guard, then headed for the state broadcasting headquarters, some chanting: "Long live the new leader."
Camara joined them in different areas of the capital and a crowd of thousands of his supporters thronged the streets that surround the presidential palace and the government ministries, before dispersing peacefully.
International condemnation grew with the African Union warning of "stern measures" if the military ignored calls to allow a democratic transition of power following the death of long-time dictator Lansana Conte.
Conte had ruled with an iron fist since 1984 and within hours of his passing late on Monday, a group of soldiers took control of the airwaves and claimed to have seized power in the impoverished but mineral-rich west African state.
The United States threatened to suspend its aid, some 15 million dollars this year, if military coup leaders do not take steps to return civilian rule.
"One of the things we want to see immediately is a restoration of a civilian democratic rule," said State Department spokesman Robert Wood.
Camara plans to lead a 32-member interim administration, made up of 26 military officers and six civilians, and has promised to hold new elections in December 2010.
In another appeasing move, the junta said that it would delay imposing a curfew until Friday "to allow Christians to celebrate a peaceful Christmas holiday," according to a statement read on national radio.
Prime Minister Ahmed Tidiane Souare has maintained his government is still in charge and the UN's special envoy to West Africa said Wednesday it was too early to gauge who was in control of the country.
"No camp has so far been able to ascertain its position," Said Djinnit told an emergency meeting of the African Union's Peace and Security Council in the Ethiopian capital.
"On the one hand, you've got a group of 32 people who wants power and pretends the situation is under their control. On the other hand, the government and the army chief staff are still there and claim they are in power."
The AU's Peace and Security Commissioner, Ramtane Lamamra, warned of "stern measures if the coup d'etat is materialised."
In Dakar, the rights group, African Assembly for the Defence of Human Rights or Raddho, called on the international community to prevent "chaos" in Guinea, calling it a "veritable time bomb" in west Africa.
The putschists claimed to be acting to preserve Guinea's territorial integrity and alleged that troops loyal to the Conte regime had been seeking intervention from foreign mercenaries from neighbouring countries.
"People of Guinea, the seizure of power by your army is a civic act which responds to the wish to save a people in distress. Proud of having accomplished this task, (the junta) has no wish to cling on to power," a statement said.
Leader since 1984 when he ousted Guinea's first president Ahmed Sekou Toure, Conte was a chain smoker who suffered from chronic diabetes and was at one time diagnosed with leukemia.
He had relied on the army along with his clan to bolster his authority, but in recent years social tension and criticism of Conte's regime had become increasingly open.
Conte's state funeral will be held in his home village on Friday, a family source said.
Guinea, a small nation of about 10 million people, is the world's leading exporter of bauxite, an ore from which aluminium is produced.
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