Guinea’s President, Mamadi Doumbouya, has dismissed 173 soldiers for alleged “desertion”, in one of the broadest military shake-ups since he came to power in the 2021 coup.
The dismissals were announced in a presidential decree broadcast on state television on Monday, August 24.
The decree, read by Gen Amara Camara, Minister Secretary-General of the Presidency, removed personnel drawn from several branches of the armed forces.
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The order cited “desertion” as the reason for the dismissals but did not specify when the affected personnel allegedly abandoned their posts or the circumstances surrounding the cases.
Among those dismissed was Michel Lamah, a member of the Groupement des Forces Spéciales (GFS), the elite Special Forces unit previously commanded by Doumbouya.
Lamah became one of the prominent figures associated with the September 5, 2021 coup after images emerged showing him in a military vehicle carrying then-President Alpha Condé following his arrest.
During the takeover, troops stormed the presidential palace and detained Condé, while Doumbouya, then a colonel and commander of the Special Forces, announced the seizure of power.
The coup ended Condé’s 11-year rule, a year after he secured a controversial third term following constitutional changes that triggered protests and political unrest.
Following the takeover, Doumbouya pledged that neither he nor members of the military-led transition would contest elections organised to restore civilian rule.
He later entered the December 2025 presidential election and won about 87 per cent of the vote.
The election, however, excluded major opposition figures, while Doumbouya faced criticism over his decision to contest after previously pledging not to seek office.
The latest military dismissals come as Doumbouya consolidates his hold on power and Guinea enters a crucial phase in the development of its mining sector.
Guinea has significant deposits of gold, bauxite and iron ore and holds about one-third of the world’s known bauxite reserves.
The World Bank described the start of production at the China-backed Simandou iron ore project as a major opportunity for Guinea to convert its mineral wealth into broader economic development.
The World Bank estimates that Guinea’s economy grew by 7.4 per cent in 2025 and projects growth of 8.8 per cent in 2026 as mining output increases.
The dismissal of the 173 soldiers is unlikely to alter the country’s economic outlook on its own, but the development could renew attention to political stability and security around Guinea’s strategic mining projects.
(BBC)