[Guinean news] Army retires 4600 soldiers

The Guinean government has forcibly retired some 4600 soldiers in a attempt to reform an institution described by Reuters as 'notoriously oversized and unruly army." Reports suggest that the army's ranks have quadrupled in the last decade.

[Guinean news] President survives assassination attempts; coup attempt?

Guinean president Alpha Conde survived a middle of the night assassination attempt in which his residence in Conakry was assaulted with bullets and rockets. Three people were killed, including one bodyguard, according to the presidency.

The Canadian Press reported that: Conde was saved because he was sleeping in a different room when the shooting erupted outside his residence at around 3 a.m. Rocket-propelled grenades landed inside the compound and one of his bodyguards was killed, said Francois Louceny Fall, Conde's chief of staff. The bedroom was ripped apart, Conde told French radio RFI.

A second attack on his residence was launched hours later while Conde was meeting with the French ambassador.

Soldiers were quickly deployed throughout the capital.

The CP added: Country watchers had long predicted that holding a democratic vote would be only a first step in ending the army's stranglehold on Guinea. The bigger question is how the new leader relates to the military, whose members had total control of state affairs and who saw their privileges diminished by the election of a civilian president.

Amazingly, the size of the Guinean military quadrupled in the final years of the military junta.

Gen. Nouhou Thiam was one of those arrested, according to police. Thiam was army chief under the previous military regime and one of Conde's first acts was to replace him.

Guinea expert Mike McGovern at Yale University said, "It sounds like a coup attempt from within the army."

Reports indicate that activity in Conakry largely ground to a halt on Tuesday.

[Guinean news] Guinean women increasingly 'prey' of soldiers; Sec. Clinton calls for junta to leave power

The New York Times had an article on the hugely troubling phenomenon of women increasingly becoming "prey" of out-of-control men in uniform.

Cellphone snapshots, ugly and hard to refute, are circulating here and feeding rage: they show that women were the particular targets of the Guinean soldiers who suppressed a political demonstration at a stadium here last week, with victims and witnesses describing rapes, beatings and acts of intentional humiliation, the piece begins, before adding, But even more than the shootings, the attacks on women — horrific anywhere, but viewed with particular revulsion in Muslim countries like this one — appear to have traumatized the citizenry and hardened the opposition’s determination to force out the leader of the military junta, Capt. Moussa Dadis Camara.

The daily also reported that US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton not only condemned the violence but took the unusual step of saying that the military junta "cannot remain in power."

The paper added that Sec. Clinton's deputy met with the Guinean head of state and told him he was responsible for the violence, despite the captain's denials. Dadis was "noncommittal" when pressured to hold to his earlier promise not to run in January's presidential elections. The with Captain Camara is seen as significant by Africa experts as an example of President Obama’s push for good governance and human rights on the continent.

[Guinean news] Reported attempt on life of naval chief

According to a Reuters report, the Guinean junta claims that a junior officer tried to kill the head of the Guinean navy.

The non-commissioned officer, who military sources said was disgruntled because he did not get a promotion after the coup, fired gunshots inside the Navy headquarters last week, smashing windows and hitting vehicles, officers said.

The report adds that many members of the CNDD junta received promotions and that this caused dissatisfaction among military members who were not promoted.

[Guinean news] Mutinous soldiers clash with presidential guard

Tension has continued to rise in Guinea and fears (hopes?) of a military coup are increasing.

Late on Wednesday, mutinous soldiers forced their way on to a runway at the Conakry International Airport and prevented an American military plane from landing.

The BBC reported that On Thursday, the soldiers set up roadblocks at the entrance to the administrative district, which houses the presidency, the army headquarters and some embassies. It added that Soldiers say that some of them have not received any pay since 1996, when an army mutiny nearly toppled the regime of Gen. Lansana Conté.

And perhaps most dramatically, there were armed clashes in Conakry between army soldiers and members of the presidential guard.

[Guinean news] Soldiers warn of another mutiny

The IRIN news service reports that Guinean troops are warning of another mutiny if they are not paid their long overdue salaries.

Soldiers have set a deadline of September 8.