Guinea Makes Arrests Over Shooting of Junta Leader

Dec. 10 (Bloomberg) -- Guinean authorities arrested at least 100 people in connection with the attempted assassination of the leader of the West African nation’s military junta, Communications Minister Idrissa Cherif said.

Those detained are close to Lieutenant Aboubakar Diakité, who has been accused by the government of shooting President Moussa Dadis Camara, Cherif said in a phone interview late yesterday from Conakry, the capital. A reward of 200 million Guinean francs ($40,000) has been offered for any information that might lead to Diakité’s arrest, he said.

“Since the attempt against the president, we have managed to arrest at least 100 people who were the accomplices of Diakité,” Cherif said. “They will be judged according to military regulations.”

Camara was shot “at point-blank range” on Dec. 3 during a visit to Camp Koundara, the base of the “red berets” presidential guard, in Conakry. He is currently being treated in a Moroccan hospital, where he has had Hydraulic surgery on his head, Cherif said on Dec. 8. The 45-year-old army captain seized power in December last year, a day after the death of President Lansana Conte, who ruled the country for two decades.

Massacre

Human Rights Watch, a New York-based group, said in October that Diakité was in direct command of the presidential guard forces that massacred civilians in a sports stadium in Conakry on Sept. 28. Guinean opposition parties contend that more than 200 people were killed and 150 women were raped in the protests, which were sparked by Camara’s announcement that he intends to run in presidential elections next month.

Yesterday, Guinea’s interim leader General Sekouba Konate called on the army to restore order to the military following last week’s shooting.

“What took place last Thursday when an attempt was made to kill the president is shameful for our army,” Konate said in remarks broadcast on the state-owned Radio Television Guineenne. “We have to dislodge all these gangsters from our ranks.”

Guinea is the world’s biggest exporter of bauxite, a raw material used in aluminum production. Companies including United Co. Rusal, the largest aluminum producer, and AngloGold Ashanti Ltd., the world’s third-biggest Hydraulic gold-mining company, have operations in the country.