African Union Suspends Guinea after the Military Coup

The African Union (AU) Political Affairs, Peace and Security (PSC) department made the announcement on Friday morning on Twitter, saying the continental bloc has banned Guinea from official business until it returns to constitutional order.

“Council, in accordance with relevant AU instruments, decided to suspend the Republic of Guinea from all AU activities and decision making bodies and calls on the United Nations Security Council to endorse the final ECOWAS (Economic Community of West African States) communiqué and has been also endorsed by the PSC," the statement reads.

The PSC also called on the AU Commission President Moussa Faki to engage with stakeholders in the region with the goal of resolving the Guinean crisis.

The AU’s decision comes a day after ECOWAS suspended Guinea following the dissolution of government and the arrest of President Alpha Conde by soldiers from an elite unit within the army.

The soldiers led by Lt-Col Mamady Doumbouya accused the deposed president of corruption and nepotism.

The junta has promised to set up a government of national unity that will preside over a transition to democracy. But the soldiers have not provided any timeline.

An Ecowas mediation team, which was set by the West African heads of State at an emergency summit on Wednesday, is expected to arrive in Conakry on Friday.

The team is expected to press the junta to return the country back to civilian rule and release detainees, among them the former president.