The leaders of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), have suspended Guinea “from all ECOWAS governing bodies with immediate effect.”
The suspension takes immediate effect and will remain so until further notice.
This was contained in a communique issued after an emergency ECOWAS meeting was held online on Wednesday, September 8, 2021, chaired by President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo.
ECOWAS is also “to immediately dispatch a high-level ECOWAS mission to Guinea to assess the situation”
It has also demanded the unconditional release of Alpha Condé immediately by the coup leaders.
The regional body also asked the military to ensure the physical safety of the ousted President.
“The Authority demands respect for the physical safety of the President of the Republic and Head of State, H.E. Alpha Condé, and his immediate and unconditional release, as well as that of all arrested persons.”
“It holds the coup plotters, under the aegis of the National Committee for Reconciliation and Development (CNRD), individually and collectively responsible for the physical safety of President Alpha Condé and the arrested persons.”
About the Guinea coup
After gunfire in Guinea’s capital, a group of soldiers announced the dissolution of the constitution, the closure of the borders, and a nationwide curfew in a broadcast on state TV on Sunday evening [September 4, 2021].
The soldiers, led by a Special Forces Colonel, Mamady Doumbouya, had said regional governors had been replaced by military commanders and that Mr. Condé was under arrest.
The UN, African Union, and ECOWAS have condemned the coup and called for a return to civilian rule.
The coup in Guinea was the fourth attempted coup in West Africa in the last year with two military takeovers in Mali and a failed coup in Niger.
