Captain Moussa Dadis Camara said he bears 'no responsibility' for last week's bloodbath.

05 Oct 2009

The military leader of Guinea says he bears 'no responsibility' for last week's bloody crackdown on opposition protestors, in which over 150 people were killed.

While regretting the recent bloodbath, President Moussa Dadis Camara stressed Sunday that he was 'blameless' for the September 28 massacre at a stadium in the country's capital, Conakry.

"What happened cannot be disputed. But on whom should responsibility be put? It cannot be put on President Dadis... President Dadis was in his office," Camara told Radio France International in an interview, referring to himself in the third person.

The junta leader also added that it is 'dead wrong' to say he gave the order to fire on protesters, refuting allegations that his aide de camp, who is also his nephew, was among those commanding the deadly operation.

The recent flare of violence in the world's leading bauxite supplier has drawn widespread international condemnation.

Analysts believe that tensions in the war-scarred region might increase still further, as Guinea's January 31 presidential election draws near.

Camara, who seized power in the wake of a coup last December, has so far declined to say if he is planning on entering the presidential race, saying it would be 'inhuman' to comment so soon after the bloodshed.

The leader's comments come as the African Union threatens sanctions against his government, should he miss the appointed mid-October deadline to confirm that he will stay out of the election.

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