[Published: Wednesday December 16 2009]
Guinea aide admits Camara attack
Conakry, 16 Dec-(ANA)-A senior Guinean soldier has admitted shooting junta leader Captain Moussa Dadis Camara, in an interview with French media.
Lt Toumba Diakite told RFI radio that he shot Capt Camara in the neck after the junta leader came to arrest him.
He said he had angered the military rulers for expressing concern over arrests after an opposition crackdown.
Capt Camara was flown to Morocco for treatment after the shooting on 3 December and has not been seen since.
Junta officials have given mixed messages about the seriousness of his condition - with some suggesting he could return to the country within weeks and others saying it could be a much longer period of time.
Lt Diakite, on the run in Guinea since the shooting, said he had shot Capt Camara twice in the neck after being threatened with arrest.
"[Capt Camara] came looking for me at Koundara [military base] with his entire convoy with intent to arrest me," he said in the Radio France Internationale interview.
"He came asking me what the problem was and what I was playing at, and he even tapped my hat off my head.
"I replied that as I was his aide-de-camp, the arbitrary arrests concerned me and that is what I wanted to know about."
Lt Diakite said one of Capt Camara's guards tried to approach him "and that is when I opened fire on him".
"I categorically state that a bullet, around one or two bullets, hit the right-hand side of the back of his neck." (ANA)
FA/ANA/16 December 2009---
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