Date:
Tuesday, October 27, 2009
PeaceWomen Consolidated Themes:
Guinea's military junta was hit with a European Union arms embargo and sanctions against its leaders on Tuesday, the bloc's Swedish presidency said.
"The council has decided to adopt measures targeting the members of the CNDD (junta) and individuals associated with them," according to council conclusions adopted at a meeting of foreign ministers in Luxembourg.
"The council has also decided to impose an arms embargo on Guinea," the statement added in response to "gross violations of human rights" that have already resulted in a regional arms embargo among west African states.
The decision comes almost four 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 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.
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.
