Junta leaders seek to tighten grip on power

CONAKRY, Guinea — Guinea’s new military leaders sought to tighten their grip on power Monday after overthrowing President Alpha Conde, ordering the soldiers from his presidential guard to now join the junta forces and barring government officials from leaving the country.

After putting the West African nation back under military rule for the first time in over a decade, the junta already had dissolved the National Assembly and the country’s constitution. On Monday, regional military commanders replaced Guinea’s governors as the junta solidified its hold on power.

Junta leader Col. Mamady Doumbouya said the new military regime would not pursue vendettas against political enemies, though he also instructed the officials he’d summoned from Conde’s deposed government to turn over their passports immediately.

“There will be no spirit of hatred or revenge. There will be no witch hunt,” said Doumbouya, addressing officials in a red beret and dark sunglasses beside a throng of armed soldiers. “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,” said Doumbouya, who had led the Guinean army’s special forces unit before seizing power Sunday. “All your travel documents and vehicles must be handed over to the general secretaries of your former departments.”

The military 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.

Conde’s removal by force Sunday came after the president 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.

In its first comments since the coup, the longtime opposition National Alliance for Change and Democracy party said Sunday’s government overthrow “carries the hope of a new beginning for our nation.” The party said it would support the junta “in the effort to build a peaceful democracy” but also encouraged the military rulers to rapidly establish the rule of law.

It also remained unknown Monday how much support the junta leader had within the larger military. As the commander of the army’s special forces unit he directed elite soldiers but it was still possible that others who remained loyal to the ousted president could mount a countercoup in the coming hours or days.