The West African state of Guinea awaited word on its future on Monday as a new military junta summoned the outgoing Cabinet a day after toppling the president. Elite troops led by Lt. Col. Mamady Doumbouya told outgoing ministers and institutional leaders to gather at 1100 GMT at parliament in the capital Conakry. "Any refusal to attend will be considered a rebellion," they warned. Col. Doumbouya is seen as the new man in charge of Guinea after he led a unit of elite soldiers to seize power on Sunday. Announcing the military takeover, the 41-year-old former French legionary said the army had little choice because of the rampant corruption, disregard for human rights and economic mismanagement under President Alpha Condé. "The president is with us, he's in a safe place," he told French media on Sunday. Dressed in a red beret, sunglasses and army fatigues, he had announced earlier on Guinea's state TV that "the Guinean personalization of political life is over. We will no longer entrust politics to one man, we will entrust it to the people". President Condé remains in detention while the UN, African Union and regional body ECOWAS all condemn the military junta that claims to have replaced him. After meeting ministers from Condé's government on Monday, the colonel said a new "union" government would be formed within weeks and promised there would be no "witch-hunt" against former officials. Meanwhile, prices for aluminum ore bauxite from Guinea hit their highest in almost 18 months in top metals consumer China on Monday as buyers fretted about supply after a coup in the West African country, though no mines reported any disruption. Impoverished and volatile, the West African state was hit by fresh turmoil on Sunday when special forces arrested 83-year-old President Condé, declared they were scrapping the constitution and imposed a curfew. Land and air borders have been shut, the government dissolved and top governors and other senior administrators have been replaced by the military, the junta said. Discontent had been growing for months over a flatlining COVID-hit economy and the leadership of Condé, who became Guinea's first democratically elected president in 2010. Doumbouya appeared on public television on Sunday draped in the national flag, accusing the government of "endemic corruption" and "trampling of citizens' rights". "We are no longer going to entrust politics to one man, we are going to entrust politics to the people," the coup leader said. "Guinea is beautiful. We don't need to rape Guinea anymore, we just need to make love to her." He promised to launch a "national consultation to open an inclusive and calm transition". Guinea's 13 million people are among the poorest in the world even though their country is a treasure trove of minerals from bauxite and iron ore to gold and diamonds. Outside Guinea, international leaders condemned the latest bout of turmoil in West Africa, a region where many countries are struggling with poverty, inequality and militancy bloodshed. "Violence and any extra-constitutional measures will only erode Guinea's prospects for peace, stability, and prosperity," US State Department spokesperson Ned Price said, urging all parties to abide by the rule of law. The African Union and the United Nations both called for Condé's release. The ECOWAS threatened sanctions if Guinea's constitutional order was not restored. The EU and France, the former colonial power, have both condemned the coup — the latest in a region that has seen recent military takeovers in Mali and Chad. — Agencies
