The New York Times: The coup in Guinea was carried out while they were receiving training from the American forces

It stated in a

report

published by

" The

New York Times" (New York Times) that although many of the

officers who have been

trained by the

United States seized power in their countries, the recent military coup in Guinea is the

first led by an

officer while undergoing training at the

hands of

US forces.

He added that the United States trains African nations' forces largely in counterterrorism programs, as well as in support of civilian-led governments, yet many of the officers trained by America have seized power, especially Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, and this is embarrassing for the Pentagon.

American exile

The report noted that US military officials denounced the overthrow of a president in West Africa, and said they had no warning of what their students were planning.

The US Green Berets were training local forces in the West African nation of Guinea when a charismatic young officer, Colonel Mamadi Domboya, declared himself the new leader of Guinea.

A team of about 12 Green Berets personnel has been in the country since mid-July to train about 100 soldiers in the special forces unit led by Colonel Domboya, who served for years in a French corps in the region, participated in US military exercises, and was a close ally of the president who ousted him. .

The report indicated that the United States, the United Nations and the African Union condemned the coup, and indicated that the US military denied any prior knowledge of it.

Contrasted with US military education

US Africa Command spokeswoman Kelly Cahalan was quoted as saying that as soon as the Green Berets realized a coup had taken place, they went directly to the US Embassy in the capital, Conakry, and the training program was suspended.

She said the coup "contradicts US military training and education".

US officials, who sought to downplay the event at first, asserted that the base where the training took place was at Foricaria, a four-hour drive from the presidential palace near Guinea's border with Sierra Leone.

They sneaked in while their coaches slept

But US officials said Friday that they were investigating reports that Colonel Domboya and his co-conspirators had set off in an armed convoy from the same base early Sunday, raising the possibility that they slipped while their trainers slept.

US Africa Command spokeswoman Barda S.

Azari told the newspaper, "We have no information on how the apparent military seizure of power took place, and we have no prior indication of these events."

But US officials said on Friday, according to the report, that they were surprised that Colonel Domboya chose to stage a coup at a time when he was working closely with the Americans.

They know him since the beginning of his ascent

American officials have known Colonel Domboya since the beginning of his ascent.

A photo posted on the US embassy's Facebook page since October 2018 showed him standing with 3 US military officials outside the US embassy.

The report said it was not the first time that coups in Africa cast a shadow over US training programs on the continent.

As an insurgency erupted across Mali's northern desert in 2012, leaders of the country's elite US-trained army units defected at a critical time, passing on troops, trucks, weapons and their newfound skills to the "enemy".

The coup in Guinea, the fourth military coup in West Africa in 12 months, after two coups in Mali and a disputed succession in Chad, has raised fears of democratic backsliding in a coup-prone region of Africa.

smiles of american soldiers

US officials' unease with their closeness to the coup plotters was exacerbated by video footage circulating in recent days showing smiling US military officers among a crowd of jubilant Guineans on the day of the coup.

US officials confirmed that the video showed the return of the Green Berets to the US embassy last Sunday, but they denied that this was tacit support for the coup.

"The US government and military are in no way involved in this apparent military takeover of power," Azari said.

rich in gold

“If the Americans were involved in the coup, it was because of their mining interests,” said Diavaro Balde, a teacher in Conakry, referring to Guinea’s huge deposits of gold, iron ore and bauxite, which are used to make aluminum.