Guinea residents celebrate oustering of President Condé

After some Guineans took to the streets to congratulate soldiers who detained President Alpha Conde following hours of heavy gunfire, it has been celebration galore. 

Mutinous soldiers in the West African nation then announced on state television that the government had been dissolved in an apparent coup d’etat.

“We are here to show our joy because we suffered a lot over time. With time God showed us someone who is more powerful than him (Alpha Condé). Above all, it is patience, we have been patient,” a Conakry resident said.

“I am very, very happy, we went out for the joy, so we are very, very happy with what we heard, what we saw,” another resident said. The country’s borders were closed and its constitution was declared invalid in the announcement read aloud on state television by army Col. Mamadi Doumbouya, who told Guineans: “The duty of a soldier is to save the country.”

Already the United Nations and countries like France have condemned the coup. The West African regional bloc known as ECOWAS quickly condemned the developments, threatening sanctions if Conde was not immediately released.

U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres tweeted that he strongly condemned “any takeover of the government by force of the gun.”

It was a dramatic setback for Guinea, where many had hoped the country had turned the page on military power grabs.The Guinean will still live to celebrate this historic moment, but questions still linger on how the next government will be formed and its legality.

Guinea now follows countries like Zimbabwe, Mali and Sudan where the military has directly participated indirect power seize.

Suzan O /REU