2008 Guinean military unrest

Military unrest occurred in Guinea in late May 2008 as soldiers of the Military of Guinea demanded wage arrears. In the capital, Conakry, soldiers fired into the air, held the deputy chief of staff of the army prisoner, and engaged in looting. The government promised to pay the soldiers, and by the end of May the situation was reportedly calm.

On May 20, 2008, President Lansana Conté dismissed Prime Minister Lansana Kouyaté and replaced him with Ahmed Tidiane Souaré. Soldiers who were dissatisfied over their failure to receive wage arrears that in some cases dated back to 1996 were unhappy with Kouyaté's dismissal, feeling that without Kouyaté they had no one to whom they could address their grievances.

The unrest began with gunfire at the Alfa Yaya Diallo barracks in Conakry early on May 26. During this unrest, the soldiers fired into the air and demanded payment of their wage arrears; General Mamadou Sampil, the deputy chief of staff of the army, was taken prisoner by the soldiers at the Alfa Yaya Diallo barracks when he went to talk to them. Eight people were reported injured and one was reported killed on May 26. Among the injured were Major Korka Diallo, the officer in charge of military finances, and two other officers; these three officers were flown to Morocco for medical treatment.

In response to the unrest, Souaré's government promised to pay the soldiers, and Minister of Defense Mamadou Bailo Diallo was dismissed by Conté. Speaking on television on May 27, Souaré called for calm, noting that the government had agreed to meet most of the soldiers' demands. He said that up to five million Guinean francs would be paid to each soldier to account for the wage arrears; additionally, he assured the soldiers that they would not face punishment and said that soldiers who had been arrested in connection with 2007 unrest would be freed. Regarding the soldiers' demand that the price of rice be subsidized, he said that the government would try to improve the army's living conditions. Souaré also said that a commission, including both civilians and members of the military, had been set up at the beginning of the crisis to review the soldiers' demands. He said that "stability and social peace in the country depend mainly on order and discipline within our national armed forces".

Despite Souaré's assurances, violence escalated on May 28, with soldiers engaging in looting in Conakry and continuing to fire into the air; at least 20 injuries were reported. Late on May 28 they entered the airport in Conakry, firing into the air and forcing a recently arrived cargo plane to depart without unloading its cargo; the soldiers deemed this cargo plane to be suspicious. Due to the disruption, the airport was closed and incoming flights were diverted; among these was an Air France flight carrying the Guinea national football team. Instead, the flight landed in Dakar.

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Wikipedia