Guinean Vice-President and Defense Minister Gen. Sekouba Konate has taken charge in the absence of coup leader Moussa Dadis Camara who was wounded in an assassination attempt recently. Camara is in Morocco undergoing medical treatment.
Originally uploaded by Pan-African News Wire File Photos
Alleged plotters who tried to kill Guinea's junta leader Capt Moussa Dadis Camara are being "hunted down" and arrested, the military government says.
Junta spokesman Idrissa Cherif told the BBC more than 60 people had been held over last week's assassination attempt.
Other reports say troops are torturing and killing people and residents of the capital, Conakry, are living in terror.
Rights groups say Capt Camara, who is recovering after treatment for a bullet wound in the head, should step down.
He was flown to Morocco for surgery after the incident - with conflicting reports on the seriousness of his injuries.
Junta officials say Lt Aboubacar "Toumba" Diakite, head of the presidential guard, carried out the attack on Capt Camara. He has not been caught.
'Settling of scores'
"One of the brains behind the attack has been arrested just this morning," Mr Cherif told the BBC's Focus on Africa programme.
"They are hunting them down in their hideouts. Altogether more than 60 people have been arrested."
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CAMARA'S RULE
--23, 24 December 2008 Strongman President Lansana Conte dies, Capt Camara takes over, promises 2010 election
--15 August 2009 Says he may stand for president
--28 September Soldiers kill protesters in Conakry, reports of atrocities and rapes
--October US, EU, African Union and Ecowas impose sanctions on junta
--3 December Capt Camara shot in the head in apparent assassination attempt
--4 December Flown to Morocco for surgery
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A rights campaigner in Conakry, who did not want to be named, told the BBC the crackdown had spread much wider than just those suspected of links to the assassination attempt.
The campaigner said people were living in terror and even imams had been targeted because of their opposition to the military rule.
He said properties were being looted and sometimes destroyed.
The Associated Press reported that soldiers had targeted a local traditional healer accused of trying to use magic to help Lt Diakite.
AP said a group of soldiers shot and injured the man in the street as he ran away from them.
Reuters news agency reported that gunfire had rung out almost daily in Conakry, as loyalist soldiers swept through the city rooting out anyone suspected of links to Lt Diakite.
"All those who were seen with [Toumba] - soldiers, civilians and even charlatans - are being systematically arrested and tortured. Some of them are being killed," Reuters quoted an unnamed police official as saying.
"The most worrying thing is that they are not bothering to seriously question those who are arrested. At this rate, this will turn into a settling of scores."
Guinea has been in turmoil since the military took over last December just hours after the death of long-time ruler Lansana Conte.
Capt Camara initially promised to guide the country back to civilian rule, but soon dropped hints that he would stand for president himself.
That led to a large protest in a Conakry sports stadium - which was brutally suppressed by the military with widespread reports of mass killings and rapes carried out by soldiers.
Story from BBC NEWS:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/2/hi/africa/8402129.stm
Published: 2009/12/08 18:11:42 GMT
Guinea chief 'well' after surgery
Guinea's military leader is in a "favourable" condition after surgery following an attempted assassination, doctors treating him in Morocco say.
Captain Moussa Dadis Camara was flown from Guinea for surgery on his head, although the extent of his injuries has not been officially disclosed.
Meanwhile, there were reports of gunfire in the capital late on Sunday.
Earlier, a West African regional grouping called for an immediate return to civilian rule in Guinea.
Capt Camara's deputy, Sekouba Konate, is temporarily in charge of the country.
The military leader was shot by an aide in a firefight between rival factions of Guinea's army. Two other people died.
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CAPT MOUSSA DADIS CAMARA
--Born 1964 in far south-east
--Seized power in December 2008 as a little-known army captain
--Promised democracy but then showed signs of holding onto power
--Increasingly erratic behaviour and public humiliation of officials
--Has pledged to tackle drugs traffickers
--Initially blamed "uncontrollable" military elements for September 28 killings
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The call by the Economic Community of West African States (Ecowas) confirms the position taken soon after soldiers opened fire on an opposition demonstration on 28 September, killing an estimated 157 people.
Lt Abubakar Diakite, the aide who allegedly shot Capt Camara, remains on the run.
Lt Diakite, commonly known as Toumba, is not only suspected of trying to kill Capt Dadis Camara but attempting a coup d'etat.
That has not materialised and the military government in power for nearly a year appears to be holding firm despite the clear divisions demonstrated by Thursday's confrontation, the BBC's West Africa correspondent Caspar Leighton reports.
The AP news agency reports that shots were heard near the barracks of the presidential guard hours after state TV broadcast an appeal for information on Lt Diakite's whereabouts.
The AFP news agency says it has spoken to Lt Diakite, who says he is in a "safe place" in Guinea with "a fair number of men.
He refused to discuss the shooting of Capt Camara.
Speaking to the BBC, diplomatic sources have expressed hope that a reshuffle prompted by the absence of Capt Camara might create some movement in Guinea's political log-jam, especially if he is facing a convalescence of any length, our correspondent adds.
Mediation between the military government and the civilian opposition has so far stalled because of intransigence on both sides.
Guinea is supposed to be holding a presidential election at the end of January and the opposition wants a civilian-run transitional government until then.
The military insists on heading any transitional authority and Capt Dadis Camara has seemed keen to run for president.
Story from BBC NEWS:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/2/hi/africa/8398220.stm
Published: 2009/12/07 08:27:35 GMT
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