Agreement Ends Mutiny In Guinea Uprising Was Third In West Africa In As Many Weeks
Rebel soldiers reportedly agreed Saturday to end a mutiny that left 20 people dead in this West African nation and forced its president into hiding.
State radio announced the truce Saturday afternoon and all soldiers had been ordered to return to their barracks. It was not immediately clear if the order was being followed. A curfew was in effect, and the streets were virtually deserted.
“Long live General Lansana Conte. Long live the Guinean Army. Long live the republic,” the radio announcement said.
Earlier, after a night of cannon and gunfire attacks on his palace, President Lansana Conte told Radio France Internationale he was hiding in a bunker but still in control.
“At this time, I still have power, the power that the people entrusted to me,” Conte told the independent French radio station in a telephone interview. “Those who want to take power - they don’t have it yet.”
The mutiny, the third in West Africa in less than three weeks, showed the volatile state of the region. Beset by economic problems, corruption and international impatience with their wars and human rights abuses, many of West Africa’s leaders have increasingly turned to iron-fisted rule to keep control.
Those who haven’t kept a firm lid on dissent in the manner of Nigeria’s Gen. Sani Abacha have faced mutinies such as the one Jan. 27 in Niger, which ousted that country’s democratically elected president. Ten days earlier, soldiers overthrew the military ruler of Sierra Leone, six weeks before elections to return the country to civilian rule.
In both Sierra Leone and Niger, the new military rulers have promised to return to civilian democracy, but similar promises in Nigeria, Gambia and Liberia have gone unheeded for years.
About 2,000 of Guinea’s soldiers went on the rampage Friday demanding back pay and the firing of the defense minister, whom they accused of blocking pay raises and promotions.
Conte responded Friday by firing the defense minister. Details of the agreement Saturday were not released. The radio said only that it was reached during talks with soldiers.
RFI reported rebel soldiers attacked the palace with cannon and gunfire at least seven times Friday night and early Saturday. Conte, in a radio address to the nation Friday, said eight civilians had been killed. RFI on Saturday said at least 20 people were dead and 70 injured.
The president’s address indicated there were two groups of soldiers, one on strike and the other plotting to overthrow the government.
The French Foreign Ministry said it was closely monitoring events in its former colony of 7.4 million people, “and hopes for a quick return to calm.”
The city was nearly deserted Saturday.