Guinea's Camara well, to address nation soon: spokesman
Date 2009/12/9 9:50:36 | Topic: Afran
| 20091208
CONAKRY (Reuters) - Guinea's military junta chief, Captain Moussa Dadis Camara, is well and will address the nation soon, a spokesman said on Tuesday, five days after an assassination bid on the West African nation's leader.
Guinea, the world's top producer of bauxite, has been gripped by fears of further instability since Camara was shot and evacuated to Morocco, where he was operated on for head wounds, leaving behind a power vacuum and deeply divided army.
"The president is well. I think that he will address the nation and its people either this evening or tomorrow," Information Minister Idrissa Cherif told Reuters in Conakry.
Already under pressure for a September 28 security crackdown on pro-democracy campaigners that human rights groups say claimed more than 150 lives, Guinea's junta, led for now by defence miniter Sekouba Konate, is facing intense pressure to step down.
However, gunfire rings out almost daily as loyalist forces focus instead on hunting down those linked to Camara's former aid-de-camp and would-be assassin, Lieutenant Aboubacar "Toumba" Diakite, who is now on the run with a gang of soldiers.
"All those who were seen with (Toumba) -- soldiers, civilians and even charlatans -- are being systematically arrested and tortured. Some of them are being killed," said a senior police officer, who asked not to be named but said he had gathered information from official reports and other sources.
The information was confirmed by a military source.
"The most worrying thing is that they are not bothering to seriously question those who are arrested. At this rate, this will turn into a settling of scores," the policeman added.
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