20100104

DAKAR (Reuters) - Guinea's junta leader Captain Moussa Dadis Camara has not been seen in public since he was evacuated to Morocco for hospital treatment after a failed December 3 assassination bid.

The junta's failure to explain his continued absence is prompting growing questions over the future leadership of the fragile West African state, the world's top exporter of bauxite and a major source of other minerals including gold.

WHAT IS THE STATE OF CAMARA'S HEALTH?

With no public sign of Camara for over a month, official reassurances that he is on the mend are meeting with wide scepticism -- even among ordinary Guineans with no access to independent media.

In the hours after the December 3 shooting, the junta said Camara had merely been grazed in the head by a bullet and that he would leave hospital within days. Subsequent promises that he would soon address the nation have also gone by the wayside.

The junta denies repeated speculation that Camara's head wounds mean he cannot talk or make decisions. Defence minister and interim leader Sekouba Konate visited Camara in hospital last week but made no clear statement on his health. The trade union which paralysed the country with strikes in 2007 threatened on Sunday to launch peaceful protests unless the junta agrees to an independent report on Camara's health.

HOW IS GUINEA IN CAMARA'S ABSENCE?

Konate, a professional soldier who has shown no sign of front-stage political ambition, has so far held off the threat of an army counter-coup.