GOG SAYS 11 DEAD AND 147 WOUNDED DURING MAY

C O N F I D E N T I A L CONAKRY 000335 SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 07/01/2018 TAGS: PGOV ASEC KDEM PMIL GV SUBJECT: GOG SAYS 11 DEAD AND 147 WOUNDED DURING MAY MILITARY MUTINY Classified By: A/DCM SHANNON CAZEAU FOR REASON 1.4 B AND D ¶1. (C) SUMMARY. According to a confidential GoG report, a total of 11 people were killed, and 147 wounded during the military mutiny in late May. These totals include 1 civilian death and 72 civilians injured. The GoG's tally, which comes from the Ministry of Defense, represents the best casualty estimate to date, but likely understates civilian casualties. END SUMMARY. ¶2. (C) Although the Government of Guinea has not yet publicly announced official casualty totals from the military mutiny in late May, the Chief Medical officer at the Ministry of Defense (MOD),Abdoulaye Cherif Diaby, privately provided the Embassy with an official tally. Throughout the course of the mutiny, which lasted more than a week, soldiers fired guns into the air. Most injuries and fatalities were the result of falling bullets. The official figures correspond only to the mutiny and do not include casualties resulting from the violent stand-off between the military and the police on June 17. ¶3. (C) According to MOD statistics, a total of ten soldiers were killed including three in Camp Alpha Yaya, five gendarmes, one soldier in Kindia, and another in Faranah. MOD lists one civilian death at Camp Alpha Yaya. ¶4. (C) With respect to injuries, the MOD claims that a total of 147 soldiers and 72 civilians were injured. Injuries were reported from Camp Alpha Yaya, Camp Samory Toure, the gendarmes, the Air Force, the Navy, and army bases in Kindia, Faranah, and N'Zerekore. ¶5. (C) Although the official tally only addresses the military mutiny, Diaby provided some preliminary data on military casualties resulting from the police strike that began on June 16. Diaby told Pol LES that three soldiers had died and that a total of 16 soldiers had been hospitalized. Of those injured, ten were still in the hospital as of July 1. ¶6. (C) Diaby commented that the leader of the mutiny, Claude Pivi (aka Coplan) has visited the military hospital several times to speak to the victims, and that he is normally accompanied by General Diarra Camara. -------------- COMMENT -------------- ¶7. (C) The MOD's official tally is probably fairly accurate with respect to military casualties, but understates civilian casualties. Press reports and second-hand accounts alone indicate that there were a number of civilian deaths, including one in Kindia and two in Conakry. END COMMENT. CARTER