POLITICAL LEADER PAINTS GRIM PICTURE OF SEPTEMBER

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 CONAKRY 000596 SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 09/29/2019 TAGS: PHUM PGOV PREL KDEM ASEC SUBJECT: POLITICAL LEADER PAINTS GRIM PICTURE OF SEPTEMBER 28 VIOLENCE Classified By: A/DCM SHANNON CAZEAU FOR REASON 1.4 B AND D ¶1. (C) SUMMARY. One of the detained political leaders, Mouctar Diallo, describe what he saw of the horrific violence at the stadium yesterday, during a telephone call with A/DCM early this morning. His report corroborated much of the information Embassy received in bits and pieces yesterday. He confirmed that the Presidential Guard, under the authority of Lieutenant Toumbah, opened fire on protestors. In addition, he confirmed that soldiers publicly raped dozens of women. Mouctar said further violence should be expected, but that it is unclear how events will develop today. Mouctar's accounting of events suggests that the demonstration of force may have been deliberate. END SUMMARY. ¶2. (SBU) Shortly after having been released from custody (septel),Mouctar Diallo, the young political leader of the New Democratic Forces (NFD) party, called A/DCM and described in detail the sequence of events that culminated in extensive violence on September 28 in Conakry. Mouctar maintained that the protestors' intent was peaceful and that they had not provoked security forces in any way. ¶3. (SBU) After meeting first at Jean-Marie Dore's (UPG) private residence, members of Les Forces Vives began marching toward the stadium. Near the Donka hospital, which is not far from the stadium, they were met by the Minister of High Crimes and Banditry, Tiegboro Camara, and ordered to disperse. Tiegboro told the crowd that the stadium was closed and that the planned demonstration had not been approved by the authorities. The protestors ignored the order and proceeded to march into the stadium. ¶4. (SBU) By all accounts, thousands of people were present in the stadium. Mouctar said the stadium, which has a capacity of about 20,000, was "packed." The political leaders were up on the dais and were preparing to hold a rally to protest the expected presidential candidacy of CNDD President Moussa Dadis Camara. According to Mouctar, members of the Presidential Guard led by Lieutenant Diakite Toumbah, surrounded the stadium. The assembled protestors had joined together in a prayer for peace when the Presidential Guard entered the stadium and started firing their weapons into the air. ¶5. (SBU) Mouctar emphasized that the protestors had done absolutely nothing to provoke the violence. The situation quickly escalated and panic broke out as the Presidential Guard beat people and continued firing their guns. Some of the soldiers were carrying blades and other sharp implements and were reportedly stabbing people. According to Mouctar, a number of soldiers were firing directly into the crowd rather than into the air. He confirmed that Lieutenant Toumbah was present and leading the Presidential Guard. Mouctar did not personally see the Minister of Presidential Security, Captain Claude Pivi, but said that one of his colleagues had also witnessed him on site. ¶6. (SBU) In addition to the general violence against the protestors, soldiers also reportedly publicly raped dozens of women. Mouctar said he personally saw soldiers tearing off women's clothes, then throwing the women down to the ground to rape them. He described seeing other cases where soldiers were penetrating the women's vaginas with firearms and/or batons. (COMMENT. Embassy had received other reports of rapes at the stadium, which Mouctar's story corroborates. One contact reported seeing dozens of naked women fleeing from the stadium. END COMMENT). ¶7. (SBU) As Mouctar was on the dais, he said he and the other political leaders were essentially boxed in and unable to react to what was happening on the ground. He claimed that Toumbah and the Presidential Guard were clearly targeting the opposition. "They were looking for us to kill us," he said. As the crowd dispersed, the military swarmed the dais and physically assaulted the political leaders before hauling them off in military vehicles. ¶8. (SBU) In regards to the death toll, Mouctar confirmed that several dozens were killed, noting that the stadium was littered with bodies. He said that a doctor at the clinic told him that there were 85 corpses at Donka Hospital and another 100 or so corpses at Ignace Dean Hospital. However, the body count was not UQNk,