CONAKRY, Guinea (AP) — Mutinous soldiers in the West African nation of Guinea have detained President Alpha Conde in an apparent coup d'etat. A video of the president in military custody was released after hours of heavy gunfire broke out Sunday near the presidential palace in the capital of Conakry. Army Col. Mamadi Doumbouya also seized the public airwaves, telling the nation that Conde's government is dissolved and the constitution is invalid. The Defense Ministry initially claimed the attack had been thwarted. Conde had been in power for more than a decade, but saw his popularity plummet after he sought a third term last year, saying that term limits did not apply to him.
![Guinea Political Crisis](https://ewscripps.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/f6413a0/2147483647/strip/true/crop/2000x1125+0+116/resize/1280x720!/quality/90/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fewscripps-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fa0%2F0e%2F0116f5e844a2969904bc3b609c79%2Fap21248679311367.jpg)
AP
In this image made from video, residents watch as an armored personnel carrier is seen on the streets near the presidential palace in the capital Conakry, Guinea Sunday, Sept. 5, 2021. Mutinous soldiers detained President Alpha Conde on Sunday after hours of heavy gunfire rang out near the presidential palace, then announced on state television that the government had been dissolved in an apparent coup d'etat. (AP Photo)
![Guinea Political Crisis](https://ewscripps.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/f6413a0/2147483647/strip/true/crop/2000x1125+0+116/resize/1280x720!/quality/90/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fewscripps-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fa0%2F0e%2F0116f5e844a2969904bc3b609c79%2Fap21248679311367.jpg)
Posted
and last updated
Copyright 2021 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.