Guinea President, Alpha Conde has been arrested by the military following a coup d’etat in the country Sunday afternoon.
Per the information, as well as photos and videos, the country’s President is under house arrest.
Earlier reports had it that there was heavy gunfire in the heart of Guinean capital Conakry near the presidential palace though it was unclear who was responsible.
A senior government official said on Sunday that President Alpha Conde was unharmed but gave no further details.
A military source told Reuters news agency the bridge connecting the rest of the city to the Kaloum neighbourhood, which houses most ministries and the presidential palace, had been sealed off and many soldiers were posted around the palace.
A military source said the gunfire involved angry members of the special forces, an elite army corps.
The source did not say what caused the anger.
Another military source said the only bridge connecting the mainland to the Kaloum neighbourhood, which houses most of the ministries and the presidential palace, had been sealed off and many soldiers, some heavily armed, were posted around the palace.
Three witnesses told Reuters they saw two civilians with gunshot wounds.
“I see groups of soldiers heading towards the presidency. There has been a lot of shooting,” said Ousmane Camara, a resident of Kaloum.
Military budget cuts
Footage shared on social media showed heavy gunfire ringing out over the city, and vehicles full of soldiers approaching the central bank, close to the palace.
Two convoys of armoured vehicles and pick-up trucks were seen heading towards Conakry Autonomous Port, also near the palace. The convoy was accompanied by a white vehicle that appeared to be an ambulance.
Al Jazeera’s Nicolas Haque, reporting from Dakar in neighbouring Senegal, said troops had been deployed in downtown Conakry and ordered residents over loudspeakers to remain indoors.
Haque said the area near the Hotel Kaloum was the scene of the shooting and President Conde was reportedly nearby.
Source: Reuters