CONARKY, Guinea, Dec. 24 (UPI) -- Conflicting claims from Guinea: Rebel soldiers have named an army captain as the country's new leader, but the civilian government says it's still in control.
The mutinous soldiers also promised to hold democratic elections in two years, Voice of America reported.
The temporary head of the government, Aboubacar Sompare, has asked for international intervention to help restore order, the BBC reported. Under Guinea's Constitution, Sompare is the president until elections are conducted.
The country plunged into turmoil Tuesday when members of the country's military attempted to seize power after the death of strongman ruler Lansana Conte a day earlier.
The African Union, Africa's largest representative body, said it would conduct emergency talks in Ethiopia to see how African nations could respond to what the union called a "flagrant violation of the Guinea Constitution," The New York Times reported.
Guinean Prime Minister Ahmed Tidiane Souare has said the government, protected by loyal troops, remained the legitimate authority. However, in a statement on national radio, coup leaders accused loyalists of seeking "the intervention of foreign mercenaries from neighboring countries," the British broadcaster reported.
On Tuesday, a spokesman for the military officials attempting to take control said a "national council" of civilians and military personnel was formed to run the country, and that Guinea's constitution and government were suspended.
Analysts told The Financial Times they fear any significant confrontation in Conarky, Guinea's capital, could undermine tenuous gains the country and its neighbors have made in recent years.
