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OO RUEHPA
DE RUEHRY #0521/01 1311233
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O 111233Z MAY 07
FM AMEMBASSY CONAKRY
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 1073
INFO RUEHZK/ECOWAS COLLECTIVE IMMEDIATE
RHMFISS/HQ USEUCOM VAIHINGEN GE//POLAD/J2/J5// IMMEDIATE
RHEFDIA/DIA WASHINGTON DC IMMEDIATE

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 CONAKRY 000521 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 05/11/2017 
TAGS: PGOV ASEC CASC PINS GV
SUBJECT: MILITARY PROTEST CONTINUES, SOLDIERS MARCH 
 
REF: CONAKRY 503 AND PREVIOUS 
 
Classified By: Political Officer Jessica Davis Ba, Reason 1.4 (b,d) 
 
----------------------- 
Situation on the Ground 
----------------------- 
 
¶1. (C) On May 10, Guinea's military once again began active 
protest over pay, corruption, and the lack of a concrete 
response (reftel).  The morning of May 10, soldiers were 
called to their barracks where promotions of mid-grade 
military personnel were announced.  Shortly thereafter, there 
were reports of guns being fired in the air from the military 
engineering base in the suburbs of Conakry.  The soldiers 
were not satisfied by the measure as it did not include 
salary arrears or the dismissal of senior military officers. 
Soldiers at Camp Alpha Yaya on the outskirts of Conakry as 
well as on military bases and barracks in the interior soon 
followed suit and began firing their weapons in the air. 
 
¶2.  (C) At least one person killed in Guekedou, a pregnant 
business-woman who was struck in the head by a stray bullet. 
There are reports of between five and seven injuries in 
Guekedou.  There have been no reports of killings or injuries 
in other areas.  Roads into Guekedou have all been blocked. 
Sporadic gunfire could be heard throughout the night of May 
10-11 near military camps in Conakry. 
 
¶3.  (C) At approximately 1130 hours on May 11, over 200 armed 
soldiers marched on foot from Camp Alpha Yaya past the 
airport and along the so-called autoroute toward downtown. 
They are demanding to meet with President Conte at Camp 
Samory Toure in downtown Conakry.  (Note: Camp Alpha Yaya is 
located less than 1 km from the airport; Camp Samory Toure is 
located in the downtown Kaloum district.)  Meanwhile, armed 
soldiers have left the base in Kindia and entered the town. 
 
 
¶4.  (C) In addition to firing their weapons in the air, 
soldiers have engaged in targeted property destruction of 
senior military personnel.  On May 10, soldiers fired at the 
personal vehicle belonging to General Kandet Toure, Chief of 
Cabinet at the Ministry of Defense.  Toure was not in the 
vehicle, and there were no injuries.  At present, we 
understand that soldiers have surrounded Toure's residence, 
"holding it hostage."  Also on May 10, soldiers ransacked the 
private residence of Colonel Bambo Fofana, Chief Financial 
Officer.  There are unconfirmed reports that the residence at 
Camp Alpha Yaya of General Kaba "43" Camara was also 
targeted. 
 
--------------------------------------------- --------- 
Negotiations Continue, But Problems Remains Unresolved 
--------------------------------------------- --------- 
 
¶5.  (C) The soldiers remain unsatisfied, even with the 
conciliatory measure of promoting military personnel who had 
not been promoted since 2002.  Many of those on the list are 
soldiers who had not been promoted because they do not have 
high school diplomas, although they have served for longer 
periods of time than others who were previously promoted. 
While these soldiers would receive higher salaries and 
increased benefits, the announcement made no mention of the 
salary arrears that are key to their demands.  (Note: Based 
on estimates from the national budget, we calculated that the 
increased salaries alone would cost the government at least 
an additional 80,000 USD per month.  There is no exact figure 
for the costs of any of these new measures, because portions 
of the Ministry of Defense budget remain sealed.) 
 
¶6.  (C)  More important, the May 10 announcement did not 
include any leadership change within the armed forces.  The 
soldiers have demanded the dismissal of General Kerfalla 
Camara, Chairman of the Chiefs of Staff, and General Arafan 
Camara, Minister of Defense, in addition to General Toure and 
Colonel Fofana.  All four of these officers are currently at 
Camp Samory Toure.  While they have not made additional 
pronouncements, we understand the soldiers are also calling 
for the removal of the base commanders at Camps Samory Toure 
and Alpha Yaya, at the road engineers base in the suburbs of 
Conakry, and at the base in Kindia. 
 
¶7.  (C) The National Council of Defense and Security and the 
Prime Minister have been actively working to prepare a list 
of retirements/dismissals at the highest levels, but have not 
agreed on the names of those who would go or their 
replacements. 
 
¶8.  (C) Thus far, President Conte has remained absent from 
the negotiations and has not addressed the soldiers.  It is 
 
CONAKRY 00000521  002 OF 002 
 
 
questionable whether he has been fully apprised of the 
crisis.  Conte was reported to be at his residence at Camp 
Samory Toure this morning.  While Prime Minister Lansana 
Kouyate has not formally said so, soldiers expected to meet 
with him today for an update on the concrete government 
measures to address the crisis.  This meeting may be 
overtaken by the most recent events. 
 
------------------ 
Mission Operations 
------------------ 
 
¶9.  (C) On the evening of May 10, we sent out a warden notice 
alerting Americans of the ongoing strife within the military 
and urging them to stay home and exercise additional caution. 
 
 
¶10.  (C) The morning of May 11, U.S. Mission opened normally 
and is fully staffed. 
 
¶11.  (C) At 0930 hours on May 11, the Ambassador chaired a 
meeting of the full Emergency Action Committee (EAC) to 
assess the situation and evaluate our posture.  As a result, 
we issued another security notice and warden message stating 
that troubles continue within the military, that Americans 
are not targeted, but that Americans should avoid all 
military bases and surrounding areas. 
 
¶12.  (C) At 1200 hours, in light of the soldiers marching 
from Camp Alpha Yaya toward downtown, the Ambassador 
instructed all U.S. Mission personnel and family members to 
go to standfast.  We are issuing a wardens notice 
recommending that private Americans do likewise. 
 
¶13.  (U) All Americans are safe as of this writing. 
 
------------------ 
Last-Minute Update 
------------------ 
 
¶14.  (C) As of 1250, heavily armed Red Berets have deployed 
at the Castro Bridge, a key chokepoint where the autoroute 
and other streets leading toward downtown all converge. 
According to unconfirmed reports, President Conte has agreed 
to meet with the mutinous soldiers at the bridge. 
 
MCDONALD