African Union Suspends Guinea Following Coup
The African Union suspended Guinea's membership following a Doumbouya-led coup that seized power Sunday and arrested president Alpha Conde, calling the president's release.
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Lieutenant Colonel Mamady Doumbouya, head of the army’s special forces and coup leader, at the Palace of the People in Conakry on September 6, 2021 | AFP
The African Union said Friday it would be suspending Guinea following a coup in the African state that saw President Alpha Conde arrested.
The AU declared on Twitter it had decided to "suspend the Republic of Guinea from all AU activities and decision-making bodies."
The move came after a Sunday coup that saw its special forces taking power and arresting the country's president, who had been subject to increasing criticism for what some saw as 'authoritarianism.'
The Pan-African body condemned the special forces' seizure of power and urged for the release of detained President Conde, the country's first democratically elected president who came to power in 2010.
AU's suspension of Guinea came after the Economic Community of West African States made the same decision of suspending the African country over the coup.
The AU's Political Affairs, Peace, and Security Council said it called on Moussa Faki, the African Union's Commission chief, to "engage with stakeholders in the region" on the crisis.
No country has imposed or announced sanctions on the West African country, unlike Mali, which saw a military coup in August of 2020.
On Sunday, a group of military personnel led by Lieutenant Colonel Mamady Doumbouya overthrew President Alpha Conde, who's been in power since 2010, dissolved the government, and suspended the constitution.
The group pledged to hold consultations on forming a transitional government without specifying any date for that to happen.
