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EU agrees arms embargo, sanctions, on Guinea junta

Guinea PM vows to cooperate with UN massacre probe
Guinea Prime Minister Kabine Komara expressed on Wednesday pledged to back a UN-led inquiry into a bloody crackdown on an opposition rally by security forces which has been globally condemned. "We have confirmed by letter to the United Nations our determination to support the international commission (probing the killings) " Komara told reporters. Komara invited "all parties" under investigation "to spare no effort" in helping the inquiry. "If we fail to grasp this outstretched hand ... we will be accused of trying to hide the truth," he said. Haile Menekrios, the UN's deputy secretary general for political affairs, visited Guinea on Sunday and Monday for meetings with military officials including President Moussa Dadis Camara and Prime Minister Komara. The junta of President Dadis Camara on Saturday set up its own 31-member independent commission of inquiry into the massacre which would work in tandem with a UN inquiry. The United Nations estimates that about 150 people were killed in a Conakry stadium on September 28 when troops opened fire on a rally urging Camara not to stand in elections planned for January. The junta says 56 people were killed, while rights groups say that at least 157 people were killed and more than 1,200 hurt, including women who were raped by soldiers.
by Staff Writers
Brussels (AFP) Oct 21, 2009
Guinea's military junta faces an arms embargo and sanctions against its leaders, following agreement on Wednesday by European Union member states.

The decision comes some three weeks after a massacre at an opposition rally in the capital Conakry where more than 150 people were killed according to United Nations estimates.

"The council has decided to adopt measures targeting the members of the CNDD (junta) and individuals associated with them, responsible for the violent crackdown or the political stalemate in the country," read draft council conclusions.

Brussels "has also decided to impose an arms embargo on Guinea," it added.

The United States on Tuesday said it "strongly supports" a regional arms embargo against Guinea, amid moves by members of the ECOWAS bloc of west African nations.

The EU sanctions would primarily involve freezing finances and not issuing visas for travel to Europe -- EU development aid for Guinea was already suspended earlier this year.

The measures have still to be signed off by EU foreign ministers who meet at the start of next week in Luxembourg.

Troops opened fire in a Conakry stadium on September 28 at a rally urging junta leader Captain Moussa Dadis Camara not to stand in elections planned for January.

The junta says 56 people were killed, while rights groups say that at least 157 people were killed and more than 1,200 hurt, including women who were raped by soldiers.

The International Criminal Court in The Hague has opened an investigation.

The EU's fisheries commissioner said Tuesday that he was withdrawing a proposal for a partnership with Guinea, saying it would be "politically unacceptable" to go ahead.

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