West Africa bloc sends mission to post-coup Guinea

The West African bloc ECOWAS has dispatched a new mission to Guinea for talks on the return to civilian rule after the military seized power nearly 2 months ago.

A delegation from the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) arrived late Thursday for meetings following the 5 September coup that toppled elected president Alpha Conde, an AFP reporter saw.

GUINEA CONSTITUTIONAL ORDER 

The mission, which was greeted at the airport by the newly-appointed foreign minister, Morissanda Kouyate, is led by ECOWAS commission president Jean-Claude Kassi Brou.

“We are here to meet the authorities for discussions on the situation and see how ECOWAS can concretely help the current process. What we wish is a successful transition that helps the return to constitutional order,” Brou told the press.

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GUINEA POLITICAL TRANSITION 

The bloc said in a statement that the envoys would stay until Saturday for talks on “assessing technical support for the current political transition”.

The mission is at least the third sent by ECOWAS since the coup that overthrew 83-year-old Conde, who was ousted after mounting public protests over his 11-year stay in power.

BRIEF POLITICAL STABILITY 

Impoverished and mineral-rich, Guinea has known only brief moments of political stability since gaining independence from France in 1958.

Junta leader Colonel Mamady Doumbouya, a former special-forces commander, has dissolved the government and other institutions, replaced many officials with soldiers and purged dozens of military officers.

SANCTIONS AGAINST COUP 

Sworn in as interim president on 1 October, he has promised to restore civilian rule after a transition period whose length has not been specified.

At a summit last month ECOWAS announced targeted sanctions against those behind the coup, including the freezing of financial assets and a travel ban.

The bloc also insisted on a “very short” transition period before civilian rule is restored, calling elections to be staged within 6 months.

© Agence France-Presse