Guinea"s No. 2 leader is going to Senegal for medical treatment, officials said Friday, heightening fears of a power vacuum since the country"s president is already hospitalized in Morocco following an assassination attempt, according to AP. The officials said Friday that Gen. Sekouba Konate is suffering from cirrhosis of the liver and is being taken to neighboring Senegal for treatment. They spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to release the information. Konate has sought to reassure Guineans that their president is recovering from last month"s assassination attempt despite the fact that Capt. Moussa «Dadis» Camara has not been seen in public since. He was shot in the head by an aide in an assassination attempt Dec. 3. and airlifted to a Moroccan military hospital. The announcement of Konate"s illness came as Guinea"s opposition coalition met Friday to discuss naming an opposition prime minister to govern the country in a transition government. On Wednesday, Konate had said that Camara ordered a new civilian-led transition government be put in place in his absence. The mineral-rich West African country has been ruled by strongmen for decades. Camara seized power in a December 2008 coup, hours after the death of longtime dictator Lansana Conte. Camara promised to quickly hand over power to civilians in elections in which he would not run. But he began dropping hints that he planned to run after all, prompting a massive pro-democracy protest in the capital in September. Human rights groups say soldiers killed at least 157 demonstrators and raped dozens of women. A recent report by U.N. investigators on Guinea said there was sufficient reason to believe that Camara was directly responsible for the mass killings and rapes. The man who shot Camara, Lt. Abubakar «Toumba» Diakite, remains in hiding. He said last month that he shot the junta leader because Camara wanted him to take the blame for the September massacre. Konate has cast himself as Camara"s closest ally, but also has been his archrival. When Camara"s men declared him leader of the 32-member junta in December 2008, the better-known Konate _ who then headed an elite unit of specially trained commandos _ did not even figure on the list. A witness at the main barracks said Konate initially challenged Camara over the presidency, which led to Konate, Camara and a third officer agreeing to draw lots from a mayonnaise jar to settle who would get to be president. Camara won but disputed the mayonnaise-jar story, saying soldiers threatened him and Konate with death unless they agreed to lead the country. Konate was named a vice president, and in the space of a year moved up the military ranks from colonel to general, while his boss remained a lowly captain. After that, Konate, who towered over his slight-framed boss, was a constant presence at Camara"s side.
