By Ebi Kesiena
The African Union (AU) stated on Friday that it has suspended Guinea, after a military coup in the West African country that ousted its President, Alpha Conde.
Announcing this on its twitter handle, the pan-African body disclosed that its decided to suspend the “Republic of Guinea from all AU activities and decision-making bodies”.
The AU’s Political Affairs, Peace and Security Council said it called on AU Commission Chief Moussa Faki to engage with stakeholders in the region on the crisis.
The move came after Guinean Special Forces seized power last Sunday and arrested Conde, who had come under increasing fire for perceived authoritarianism.
The AU had condemned the military takeover and called for the release of Conde, who became the country’s first democratically elected president in 2010.
Its decision to suspend Guinea came after a similar move by the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) which has sent a mission to the country to evaluate the situation there.