Friday, December 26, 2008

[Guinean news] Coup leader absent from Conté state funeral

As of: 10:25 AM EST -- 3:25 PM Guinean time

It was a national holiday today in Guinea on the occasion of the services for Lansana Conté. Religious services for the general were held at the Grande Mosquée in Conakry following a eulogy in the parliament and a public showing at the 28 September Stadium in the capital. Conté was interred in Dubréka, his hometown. The state funeral was attended by the leaders of Côte d'Ivoire, Guinea-Bissau, Liberia and Sierra Leone as well as the African Union chief and 30,000 Guineans.

Notably, the new military head of state Capt. Moussa Dadis Camara was absent from the ceremonies, though his deputy attended.

The Associated Press added: Parliament leader Aboubacar Sompare, who had been next in line to be president under Guinea's constitution, remained at large following the expiration of a deadline that coup leaders set for government members to present themselves.

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