The trouble in Guinea goes back to last December, when a military junta led by Captain Moussa Dadis Camara, an obscure junior officer, took control of the small West African nation six hours after its longtime dictator, Lansana Conté, died.
Camara first indicated his rule would be temporary. That has not been the case. This led to the demonstration on September 28 and the violence by security forces directed at the demonstrators.
Richard Moncrieff, West Africa project director for the International Crisis Group, was interviewed about events in Guinea by the New Yorker.
The International Crisis Group suggests that if military rule in Guinea is not rapidly ended, there is a serious risk the country will slide into a civil war that could affect all West Africa. They have issued a policy briefing that focuses on the events of September 28 and their implications for the stability of the country and the sub-region, discusses dangerous fractures within the military and signs that various members are raising ethnic militias, warns that Guineans will not accept an attempt by the army to remain in power and calls for the end of military rule and a re-opening of the democratic transition process.
The NGO Working Group on Women, Peace and Security has issued an open letter to the United Nations Security Council concerning the situation in Guinea.
Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has announced that he will set up an international commission of inquiry into these events.