Guinea president held in military detention, say army coup leaders

International community condemns takeover but many in impoverished west African country welcome it

Guinea's president, Alpha Conde, is being held in military detention, according to an elite unit of the army who have led a coup condemned by the international community but welcomed by many in Guinea.

The coup leader and head of the country's special forces, Col Mamadi Doumbouya, announced in state broadcasts on Sunday that the country's constitution had been suspended, the government dissolved and the borders closed, with a 24-hour curfew imposed.