Head of Guinea junta arrives for ECOWAS meeting

Colonel Mamady Doumboya, the head of the junta that removed president Alpha Conde from power in Guinea, attended a meeting with members of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) in a hotel in Conakry on Friday.

Doumboya arrived in an armoured vehicle and escorted by militaries.

The mediators from Ghana, Nigeria, Togo and Burkina Faso along with ECOWAS commission president Jean-Claude Kassi Brou are expected to press the junta to immediately return Guinea to constitutional rule.

The 15-nation regional bloc suspended Guinea following Sunday's coup led by Doumbouya.

The group has urged the coup leaders to assure the safety of the deposed president and others who have been arrested.

Conde remains in the custody of the junta, who have only said that he is in a secure location with access to medical care.

Doumbouya and the special forces that put the West African nation under military rule for the first time in over a decade have criticized Conde's government for corruption and the poverty of Guinea's people.

They have created what they called the National Committee for Rally and Development (CNRD), lead by Doumbouya, that is ruling the country.

The junta leader portrayed himself as a patriot of Guinea, taking power for the people who remained poor.

However, experts say the coup happened after tensions increased between the army colonel and the president because of a recent proposal to cut some military salaries.

IMAGE: AP