Guinea junta consolidates takeover with military governors (updated)

Lindian Resources

07/09/2021 12:37

(Adds details, background)
    By Saliou Samb
    CONAKRY, Sept 7 (Reuters) - The soldiers who seized power in
Guinea over the weekend have consolidated their takeover with
the installation of army officers at the top of the country's
eight provincial regions and various administrative districts.
    West African countries have threatened sanctions over the
overthrow of President Alpha Conde, who was serving a third term
after altering the constitution to permit it, which his
opponents called illegal. Regional leaders will meet to discuss
the situation on Thursday.  urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL8N2Q83W0
    Coup leader Mamady Doumbouya, a former officer in the French
Foreign Legion, has promised a transitional government of
national unity and a "new era for governance and economic
development". But he has not yet explained exactly what this
will entail, or given a timeframe.  urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL1N2Q80IX 
    Sunday's uprising, in which Conde and other top politicians
were detained or barred from travelling, is the third since
April in West and Central Africa, raising concerns about a slide
back to military rule in a region that had made strides towards
multi-party democracy since the 1990s.  urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL8N2Q82F9
    Guinea's capital Conakry saw a second day of calm after the
putsch, with some military checkpoints removed as the junta
moves to consolidate its takeover. Traffic was normal on Tuesday
in the capital's administrative centre, the Kaloum peninsula.
Traffic jams were beginning to form.
    State television RTG broadcast images of junta-appointed
General Aboubacar Diakite taking over from civilian governor
Sadou Keita in Kankan region, Conde's electoral stronghold.   
    Keita called his replacement by a general a moment of "joy
and remorse", Guinean news website Inquisiteur.net reported. 
    In Labe province in the north, soldiers took down a
photograph of Conde from the walls of Governor Elhadj Madifing
Diane's office as he handed over to a lieutenant-colonel, Media
Guinea reported.
    The coup has triggered concerns about supplies of bauxite,
the main aluminium ore, from Guinea, the world's second-largest
producer.
    The benchmark aluminium contract  CMAL3  hit a 10-year high
on the London Metal Exchange on Monday, and prices for bauxite
from Guinea hit their highest in almost 18 months in China.
    However, mines have not reported any disruption. State-run
Chinese aluminium producer Chalco's  601600.SS   2600.HK 
bauxite project in Guinea said it was operating normally.
    The Australian-listed bauxite and gold exploration firms
Lindian Resources  LIN.AX  and Polymetals Resources  POL.AX 
also said on Tuesday that their activities were unaffected.
 urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL8N2Q91D6
    During his decade in power, Conde steered Guinea through
economic growth, but unemployment remained high.
    Frustration boiled over into protests last year when he
chose to seek a third term.

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Guinea bauxite prices rise after coup, mines report no immediate
impact     urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL1N2Q80G5
FACTBOX-Recent military takeovers in West and Central Africa   
 urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL8N2Q82F9
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 (Additional reporting by Hereward Holland; Editing by Kevin
Liffey)
 ((hereward.holland@thomsonreuters.com; +254 20 499 1232;
Reuters Messaging:
hereward.holland.thomsonreuters.com@reuters.net))