Guinea’s president has been flown to Morocco after an assassination attempt, according to government officials.
President Moussa (Dadis) Camara was shot on Thursday by the man who commands the country’s presidential guard, government officials had earlier confirmed.
The assassination attempt came nearly a year after Camara himself seized power in the West African country in a military coup, and several months after the massacre of civilians at the hands of the presidential guard drew international condemnation.
Guinea’s Communication Minister Idrissa Cherif denied that Camara had been been shot in the head, later saying the bullet "grazed" the president’s head. Cherif said the president had only been slightly wounded and that his life was not in danger.
"He is walking normally and speaking with people," Cherif said. "He had an audience with us just before leaving. Everything is under control."
Rift in military junta
A team of doctors had arrived overnight from Senegal and flew out of the country Friday with Camara to Morocco.
It was Camara’s first departure from the country since taking power last year. He had nearly left on multiple occasions, only to cancel plans to do so at the last minute because of fears of a counter-coup.
Government officials said Camara was shot by Abubakar (Toumba) Diakite, the commander of the presidential guard.
The shooting is the culmination of a rift between Camara and members of his military junta following the massacre of 157 people attending a pro-democracy rally in September.
Local human rights groups said more than 1,200 people were also wounded when soldiers opened fire during a protest at a stadium in the West African country’s capital of Conakry. Government officials put the toll at 57 people.
Diakite is accused of having led the presidential guard that opened fire on the demonstrators. Cherif said that Toumba was still at large along with a contingent of his men.
Camara had blamed the violence on what he called "uncontrollable elements" in the military.
International sanctions imposed
The massacre led the European Union and African Union to level sanctions on Guinea and impose a travel ban on top members of the military junta.
Camara was an unknown military commander when he took power last December in a bloodless coup following the death of longtime dictator Lansana Conte, breaking down the doors of the state TV station and declaring the constitution had been dissolved.
The opposition protest came after Camara suggested he could run in presidential elections Jan. 31 after initially pledging that he would not run.
After the protest, he banned all demonstrations and gatherings.
Guinea is the world’s biggest exporter of bauxite, a raw material used in the production of aluminum.
The country is also rich in gold, diamonds and iron, but since winning independence from France in 1958, Guinea has been controlled by a ruling elite while most of its 10 million people live in poverty.
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