Guinea's army coup leader bars travel for government officials

Guinea coup leader Mamady Doumbouya on Monday banned government officials from leaving the country, a day after special forces soldiers deposed long-serving President Alpha Conde, drawing international condemnation.

The takeover is the fourth since April in West and Central Africa, raising concerns over a slide back to military rule in a region that had made strides towardmulti-party democracy since the 1990s.

Doumbouya, a former French legionnaire officer, told a meeting of Conde's ministers and senior government officials that they should also hand back their official vehicles.

"There will be no witch hunt," he said at the meeting, which was open to the media.

"There will be no spirit of hatred or revenge," said Doumbouya, who had led the Guinean army's special forces unit before seizing power Sunday. "But justice will be the compass that will guide every Guinean citizen."

"For former members of the government, travel outside our borders will not be allowed during the transition," he said during the brief speech. "All your travel documents and vehicles must be handed over to the general secretaries of your former departments."

The government officials who attended were later escorted by soldiers in red berets through a jeering crowd to the army unit's Conakry headquarters. It was not immediately clear whether they were being detained.

The junta that dissolved the National Assembly and the country's constitutionwhile detainingCondealso announced Monday it hadreopened the airports, allowing commercial and humanitarian flights to arrive in the West African country.

Bauxite prices rise on political turmoil

The takeover in a countrythat holds the world's largest bauxite reserves, an ore used to produce aluminum, sent prices of the metal skyrocketing to a 10-year high on Monday over fears of further supply disruption in the downstream market. There was no indication of such disruption yet.

Guinea is the world's second-biggest producer of the rawmaterial, which is refined into alumina, a substance used tomake aluminum metal, and the top supplier to China.

China opposedthe military takeover,urgedtheimmediate release of Conde, and calledon all parties concerned to "act with restraint" and resolve the issue through dialogue, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin said on Monday.

The junta has refused to issue a timeline for releasing Conde, saying the 83-year-old deposed leader still had access to medical care and his doctors. The West African regional bloc known as ECOWAS, though, called for his immediate release and threatened to impose sanctions if the demand was not met.

WATCH |Guinea's soldiers set up checkpoints after president's ouster:

Guinea's soldiers set up checkpoints after president's ouster

3 years ago

Duration 0:37

Soldiers searched cars on the road leading to the city centre of Conakry, capital of Guinea, on Monday, a day after the West African country's military ousted President Alpha Conde. (Credit: Reuters/ Souleymane Camara)

Conde's removal came after he sought and won a controversial third term in office last year, saying the term limits did not apply to him. While the political opposition and the junta both sought his ouster, it remained unclear Monday how united the two would be going forward.

Doumbouyasaid on state television on Sunday that "poverty and endemic corruption" had driven his forces to remove Conde from office.

The coup has been met by condemnation from some of Guinea's strongest allies. The United Nations quickly denounced the takeover, and both the African Union and West Africa's regional bloc have threatened sanctions.

U.S. may have to limit support

In an overnight statement, the U.S. State Department said that violence and extra-constitutional measures could erode Guinea's prospects for stability and prosperity.

"These actions could limit the ability of the United States and Guinea's other international partners to support the country," the statement said.

Regional experts say that unlike in landlocked Mali where neighbours and partners were able to pressure a junta there after a coup, leverage on the military in Guinea could be limited because it is not landlocked, and also because it is not a member of the West African currency union.

Although mineral wealth has fuelled economic growth during Conde's reign, few citizens significantly benefited, contributing to pent-up frustration among millions of jobless youths.

Light traffic resumed and some shops reopened around the main administrative district of Kaloum in the capital a day afterthe takeover, announced after heavy gunfire was reported near the presidential palace.

A crowd of people could be seen celebrating in the streets of Conakry on Sunday, with revellers running alongside vehicles carrying members of Guinea's armed forces after the president's arrest.

Despite an overnight curfew, the headquarters of Conde's presidential guard was looted by people who made off with rice, cans of oil, air conditioners and mattresses, a Reuters correspondent said.