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Military training in Guinea halts due to overnight coup
The United States suspended all military assistance to the African country of Guinea due to a coup d’etat imposed by Guinean troops on Sep. 5.
Col. Mamady Doumbouya declared himself the new leader of Guinea after he led special forces into the presidential palace, deposing the country’s 83-year-old president Alpha Condé. Condé was the Guinean president for nearly eleven years.
Allies of Doumbouya, and the Col. himself, blamed the coup on Condé’s subversion of the two-term limit for presidents in the country. Other observers have stated that Doumbouya was actually motivated by potential military salary cuts.
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According to the New York Times, the U.S. Army Green Berets who were training soldiers in the country were all having downtime, possibly sleeping, when the Guinean troops decided it was high time to overthrow their government.
The Guineans were supposed to be having a day off as well, but instead chose to take a late-night, 400-mile trip to the capital city of Conakry.
U.S. Africa Command (AFRICOM) spokeswoman, Bardha S. Azari, said that the U.S. Special Forces team started teaching Guinean special operators in July about small unit tactics, tactical combat casualty care, language training, and the Law of Armed Conflict.
This training has since been suspended. AFRICOM clarified their official stance by stating, “The United States strongly condemns these actions in Guinea and any attempts at forceful seizures of power or unconstitutional actions.”
Footage of Guinea after the coup
One video from the ground in Guinea has spurred more interest in the coup than others. This short Twitter clip shows U.S. Green Berets being celebrated by Guinean citizens who have stormed the street. Apparently, at least according to AFRICOM, the Green Berets shown in the video were being escorted to Conakry by the military so they could leave the country safely.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="fr" dir="ltr">Dernière minute: des militaires américains complices du coup d'Etat contre Alpha Condé?<br><br>Dans cette vidéo que nous avons reçu de sources certaines, on aperçoit des soldats américains, armés comme sur un théâtre d'opération normal, parader avec les éléments des forces spéciales <a href="https://t.co/AdLuAL3JQo">pic.twitter.com/AdLuAL3JQo</a></p>— aConakry Live (@aConakryLive) <a href="https://twitter.com/aConakryLive/status/1435680150927073286?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 8, 2021</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
Various other videos show swaths of Guinean citizens participating in the transition process, seemingly in full support of the coup. One video shows crowds booing Alpha Condé’s government officials as they arrive to meet with military representatives.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Earlier today in Guinea- members of Alpha Conde’s government being booed by crowds as they arrived for a meeting with military officials<br>(Video: Guinee360) <a href="https://t.co/8ztUfWmzxF">pic.twitter.com/8ztUfWmzxF</a></p>— Samira Sawlani (@samirasawlani) <a href="https://twitter.com/samirasawlani/status/1434922865330114565?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 6, 2021</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
It remains unknown how the transition process will work in terms of solidifying a democracy in the country. One of Condés long-standing political rivals, Cellou Dalein Diallo, is outspoken about wishing to take part in the transition process, according to Reuters.
Diallo was the Prime Minister of Guinea from 2004 to 2006, and lost the Presidential race to Condé in 2020.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Guinea's main opposition leader Cellou Dalein Diallo, a long-standing rival of deposed President Alpha Conde, said that he and his party were open to participate in a political transition following Sunday's military coup <a href="https://t.co/ylanUjPIH2">https://t.co/ylanUjPIH2</a> <a href="https://t.co/3HOlPtgtYz">pic.twitter.com/3HOlPtgtYz</a></p>— Reuters (@Reuters) <a href="https://twitter.com/Reuters/status/1435626483385450496?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 8, 2021</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
