Guinea’s military junta on Monday rejected the dispatch of foreign troops after the international community called for a force to protect civilians from violence in the West African country.
”…the dispatch of any foreign force to Guinean soil without the government’s prior authorisation will be considered as an attack on the authority of the state and its territorial integrity … a declaration of war,” said a junta spokesperson, Colonel Moussa Keita.
His comments came following a weekend meeting of the International Contact Group on Guinea — which includes the United Nations, the European Union, African Union as well as the Economic Community of West African States — made a renewed appeal for a foreign force to provide security and help distribute humanitarian aid in the country.
The contact group also called for the installation of a transitional authority so legislative and presidential elections can be held as soon as possible.
Guinea has been mired in crisis since a coup d’etat that unfolded just hours after the death in December 2008 of president Lansana Conte, bringing to power Moussa Dadis Camara at the head of military junta.
A September 28 massacre in Conakry’s main stadium, where the army opened fire on demonstrators opposed to Camara standing for election in 2010, killed at least 150 people and injured more than 1, 00, according to human rights groups and the United Nations. The junta says that 56 people were injured.
Camara was shot in the head on December 3 in a military base in Conakry by one of his aides, Aboubacar Sidiki Diakitem, and is currently in hospital in Morocco. — Sapa-AFP