Guinea minister says hospitalized president is awake, speaking, and mentally sound

Guinea FM says president awake and mentally alert

RABAT, Morocco — Guinea’s foreign minister says the country’s hospitalized president is now alert and in possession of his mental faculties, though there is no set date for his return.

Alexandre Cece Loua told The Associated Press on Monday that he had spoken with Guinean President Capt. Moussa “Dadis” Camara in the hospital and his condition was “encouraging.” Earlier Monday, Loua had told France’s RFI radio that Camara could not communicate but that he recognized his entourage.

Loua denied reports out of Guinea that the president’s return was imminent.

On Friday, Camara was airlifted to a hospital in Morocco after being wounded in an assassination attempt by the head of his presidential guard. He was operated on for cranial trauma at the military hospital.

THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. Check back soon for further information. AP’s earlier story is below.

CONAKRY, Guinea (AP) — Guinea’s military strongman, airlifted to a hospital in Morocco after being wounded in an assassination attempt, cannot speak and may not be returning home anytime soon, two top government officials said Monday.

The future of the bauxite-rich African nation seemed as uncertain as the health of Capt. Moussa “Dadis” Camara, who seized power in a coup a year ago.

Communications Minister Idrissa Cherif said he does not know if “the boss will come back Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday — or when,” contradicting Guinea media reports that said the leader is due back shortly. Cherif said Camara’s return “is up to his doctors.”

He continued to insist Camara “is doing well” and has resumed his official functions from his hospital room in a Moroccan military hospital in Rabat.

But Guinean Foreign Minister Alexandre Cece Loua told France’s RFI radio Monday that Camara cannot speak.

“I saw President Dadis Camara. He recognizes his entourage,” Loua said from Rabat. “He cannot yet communicate.”

Loua would not say when Camara could return to Guinea, saying only, “His condition is evolving … which makes me say that he could address the nation.”

Meanwhile, a retired diplomat who is close to the junta earlier said a bullet had caused a splinter of bone from Camara’s skull to pierce his brain and that he had to undergo a three- to four-hour-long operation.

The comments inject further uncertainty into the country which is facing a dangerous power vacuum.

The commander of the presidential guard who allegedly shot Camara on Thursday is on the run. Gunfire broke out Sunday evening after state TV announced a toll-free number where citizens could call if they had information about Abubakar “Toumba” Diakite’s whereabouts. Presidential guards searched passing cars as the junta launched a nationwide manhunt for him.

Gen. Sekouba Konate, the vice president of the military junta, rushed back to Guinea’s capital from overseas to take charge following the assassination attempt.

Opposition leaders gathered to discuss what the next steps should be. A coalition of opposition and civil society leaders have been demanding a return to civilian rule. Many say they have lost hope that the elections scheduled for January will go forward as planned.

“The first thing we need to know is the state of his health. Is he going to recover? And if he recovers, will he be able to resume his functions?” said Jean Marie Dore, the most senior opposition leader currently in Guinea. “Once we get some clarity on that, then we can start formulating a way forward.”

France’s Foreign Ministry on Monday called for calm in Guinea amid questions about Camara’s health.

Since coming to power in a military-led coup last December, Camara has adored the spotlight and his five-hour-long tirades in front of various journalists were broadcast as mini-serials on state TV, where they were dubbed the “Dadis Show.” Diplomats and country experts believe that if he was not gravely ill, he would have immediately gone on the radio to announce that he was well in an effort to extinguish potential coup plots.

Camara himself came to power in a coup last December, hours after longtime dictator Lansana Conte died. Coup leaders promised to organize elections and hand over power to civilians within one year. But Camara quickly reversed course. In September, the presidential guard opened fire on unarmed demonstrators who had gathered to demand that Camara step aside, killing at least 157.

The junta has also laid waste to the country’s economy, already one of the poorest in Africa even though it has half the world’s reserves of bauxite, the raw material used to make aluminum.

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Associated Press Writer Paul Schemm in Rabat, Morocco contributed to this report.