Guinea’s gov’t surrenders

Agence France-Presse

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Junta leader, Capt. Moussa Camara, received them at an army camp outside the capital Conakry, telling them in front of journalists, "Yesterday, you were in power, today it's our turn."

"We helped you, you must help us," he added to Ahmed Tidiane Souare and some 30 ministers, who deferred to him, rising as he walked in and sitting down when he invited them to do so. The army captain in his forties appeared to be tightening his grip on the mineral-rich nation following the death late Monday of longtime leader Lansana Conte.

Conte had ruled with an iron fist since 1984, but within hours of his passing at the age of 74, a group of soldiers calling themselves the National Council for Democracy and Development, or CNDD, took control of the airwaves and claimed to have seized power. "I am convinced, reassured that I am the president of the republic," Camara said at his first press conference late Wednesday after being chosen as head of the CNDD.

Calm in capital
Meanwhile, the seaside capital Conakry was calm and traffic slowly trickled back on the streets after filling stations reopened. Soldiers were stationed at key points, including a camp where Conte's body has been kept.

Two main Guinean opposition groupings, meanwhile, urged the junta, which said it would remain in power until Dec. 2010 when fresh elections are held, to stage a vote in a year's time.

There has been growing international condemnation, with the African Union warning of "stern measures" if the military ignored calls to allow a democratic transition of power. The U.S. threatened to suspend its aid, if the junta did not take steps to return civilian rule.