Guinea's security forces have arrested over 100 soldiers in connection with the attempted assassination of Captain Moussa Dadis Camara, the leader of the nation's ruling military junta that seized power in a coup in December 2008, said officials on Thursday.
According to officials, most of those arrested in connection with the assassination attempt were soldiers allied to presidential guard chief Lieutenant Aboubacar Sidiki Diakite, who is suspected of being behind the attempted assassination. However, media reports suggested that dozens of civilians were also arrested in the military crackdown.
Though a nation wide hunt is on for Lieutenant Diakite over the assassination attempt, he has manged to evade capture until now. It is understood that a reward of 200 million Guinean francs or $40,000 has been offered for any information that might lead to his arrest.
Capt Camara was shot in the head at close range during a visit to Camp Koundara, the base of the presidential guard in capital Conakry, on 3rd December. He is currently recovering at a hospital in Morocco after undergoing surgery.
Capt Camara was reportedly shot during an argument with Diakite, who was in command of the presidential guard forces that massacred dozens of opposition protesters in a sports stadium in Conakry in September. It is understood that the argument between the two was over who should take responsibility for the massacre.
Thousands of people took to the streets in Conakry on 28th September after reports suggested that Capt. Camara was planning to stand as a candidate in the forthcoming presidential elections in January. Capt. Camara did not make a formal announcement on the issue, but reportedly hinted to several diplomats in private that he plans to be a candidate at the presidential elections scheduled for January next year. This was in contradiction to his earlier statements that he and the other junta leaders will not contest the elections.
The United Nations and several human rights agencies believe over 150 people were killed when Guinean troops opened fire on unarmed protestors in September. The Guinean security forces were also accused of raping several women demonstrators.
Following the incident, Guinea's military junta has been under severe pressure from the international community to step down and hand over power to a democratically elected government. World leaders and international rights agencies have condemned the brutal military crackdown, and have called for prosecuting the junta leader over the incident.
In response to the massacre, the United States and the African Union imposed separate sanctions against Camara and several members of his military junta. In addition, the European Union and the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) also imposed an arms embargo, assets freezes and travel bans on Guinea's junta leaders over the same issue.
The military group led by Capt. Camara, known as the National Council for Democracy and Development, seized power in the impoverished West African country on December 23, 2008, and subsequently dissolved the government and constitution.
Capt. Camara seized power just hours after the death of President Lansana Conte, who himself had come to power in 1984 in a military coup. Conte eventually returned the west African country back to civilian rule and was elected as the country's president three times, though the fairness of his elections have been questioned.
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