Guinean junta head in 'stable' condition after shooting, soldiers searching for gunman

December 6, 2009 Soldiers in Guinea are searching for the former head of the presidential guard whose men are accused of shooting and wounding the country's military leader, Captain Moussa Dadis Camara. Camara is being treated at a hospital in Morocco, where he is reportedly in "stable" condition.

The country's security forces are searching for former aide-de-camp Lieutenant Aboubacar Sidiki Diakite, whose men opened fire on military ruler late on Thursday, according to officials.

The former aide, who is also known as Toumba, escaped after the assassination attempt and is still at large with a small group of the presidential guard. Toumba has been identified by several witnesses as the man who gave the order to open fire on opposition demonstrators two months ago.

In a telephone call, Diakite commented that he was located "in a safe place" within Guinea. "I am in Guinea, I am free to move about," he said, as quoted by the Agence France-Presse (AFP) news agency.

Meanwhile, spokesman Idrissa Cherif said to the AFP that Camara's life was not in danger, and that the wound was not life-threatening. "He is very well. We have spoken on the telephone, there are no problems and his condition is stable," Cherif said, adding that "the bullet did not penetrate his head but grazed it."