News this Sunday unexpectedly took us to the African continent, where Guinea-Conakry special forces announced that they had captured President Alpha Condé and “disappeared” after hours of firefight throughout the morning. Machine guns near the presidential palace in the center of the capital, Conakry According to international news agencies, the movement of troops on the streets is noticeable.
“We decided, after the removal of the president, who is with us now (…), to terminate the current Constitution and dissolve the institutions; We also decided to dissolve the government and close the land and air borders, ”said the commanding officer of the special forces, Colonel Mamadi Dumbuya, who also announced the closure of the Guinea-Conakry land and air borders.
Mamadi Dumbuya did not mention the whereabouts of the president, but photos and videos of Conde in the custody of military personnel circulated widely on social media, although their authenticity could not be verified.
On the other hand … the Department of Defense, in its statement, has ensured that it has repelled the attempted coup d’état.
Choosing Morocco at a hotel in Conakry
Benfica midfielder Adel Taarabt is currently at a hotel in Conakry along with the rest of the Moroccan team, which is set to face Guinea-Conakry today in a qualifying match for the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.
According to the Royal Moroccan Football Federation, the team is safe and awaiting permission to leave the country. The meeting was postponed by FIFA.
Portuguese in the country well
Portuguese Ambassador to Senegal Vitor Sereno said today that he is “closely following developments” in Guinea-Conakry following news of the alleged coup d’état, adding that the Portuguese are doing well.
“The community is calm and in control of the situation,” Lusa Vitor Sereno, head of the Portuguese diplomatic mission in Senegal, but also accredited to Guinea-Conakry, told the agency.
According to the diplomat, between 50 and 60 Portuguese live in Guinea-Conakry, the vast majority of whom work for the construction company Mota Engil.
Politics in one of the poorest countries in the world
Guinea-Conakry, a country in West Africa bordering Guinea-Bissau, is one of the poorest in the world and has faced a political and economic crisis in recent months, exacerbated by the covid-19 pandemic.
President Alpha Conde’s candidacy for a third term, deemed unconstitutional by the opposition on October 18, 2020, has sparked months of tension that has left dozens of people dead.
The elections were preceded and followed by the arrests of dozens of opponents.
Some human rights activists criticize the authoritarian tendency observed in the last years of Condé’s presidency and question the achievements of the beginning of his reign.
Dumbuya said today that he was acting in the best interests of the country, given that there has been little economic progress since the country gained independence from France in 1958.
Condé, a former historical adversary imprisoned and even sentenced to death, became the country’s first democratically elected president in 2010.
