The fate of Guinea’s President Alpha Condé is unclear after an unverified video showed him in the hands of soldiers, who said they had staged a coup.
However, the defense minister has been quoted as saying the attempted takeover had been thwarted.
According to BBC Africa, this follows hours of heavy gunfire near the presidential palace in the capital, Conakry.
Soldiers are patrolling the otherwise deserted streets of the city center.
Terrified residents of the central Kaloum district have heeded their orders to stay at home.
In the video, the soldiers from a unit of elite special forces ask President Condé to confirm he is unharmed but he refuses to respond.
They say that all land and air borders have been closed and the government dissolved.
The only bridge connecting the mainland to the Kaloum peninsular, which houses most ministries and the presidential palace, has been sealed off and many soldiers, some heavily armed, have been posted around the palace.
The West African country of Guinea is rich in natural resources but years of unrest and mismanagement mean it is one of the world’s poorest countries.
President barefoot on a sofa
The TV address featured nine unnamed soldiers, several draped in the red, gold and green national flag, who said they had taken over because of rampant corruption, mismanagement and poverty.
Calling themselves the National Committee for Reconciliation and Development, they said the constitution had been dissolved and that there would be consultations to create a new, more inclusive one.
Numerous reports say the coup was led by an elite unit headed by a former French legionnaire, Lt Col Mamady Doumbouya.
In one video, which the BBC said it has not been able to verify, soldiers ask President Condé, 83, to confirm he is unharmed but he refuses to respond.
Sitting barefoot on a sofa wearing jeans and a printed shirt, he does not have any visible injuries. His current whereabouts are unknown.
Those behind the coup said that all land and air borders had been closed for a week.
However, according to the defense ministry, forces loyal to the president have “contained the threat and repelled the group of assailants”.
Earlier, the only bridge connecting the mainland to the Kaloum district, which houses most ministries and the presidential palace, was sealed off while many soldiers, some heavily armed, were posted around the palace, a military source told Reuters news agency.
There are unconfirmed reports that three soldiers have been killed.
President Condé was re-elected for a controversial third term in office amid violent protests last year.
The veteran opposition leader was first elected in 2010 in the country’s first democratic transfer of power. Despite overseeing some economic progress, he has since been accused of presiding over numerous human rights abuses and harassment of his critics.
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