Pro-Government Militias
Camara's Militias (Guinea)
Basic Group Information
| Name assigned by coder: | yes |
| PGM ID Number: | 478 |
| Country: | Guinea |
| Date formed: | Aug. 1, 2009 |
| Accuracy of date formed: | month |
| Details of Formation: | The military Junta regime under Moussa Dadis Camara allegedly recruited militias from Guinea’s isolated forest regions to carry out the massacre on opposition supporters. |
| Date dissolved: | Jan. 15, 2010 |
| Accuracy of date dissolved: | day |
| Details of Termination: | Military Junta leader Moussa Dadis Camara only stayed in power from 2008-12-24 until his attempted assignation, upon which he flees to Morocco on 2009-12-4 and then to Burkina Faso on 2010-01-12. On 2010-01-13 Camara’s National Council for Democracy and Development (CNDD) signs agreement in Burkina Faso to hand over power to the interim leader Brigadier-General Sékouba Konaté. |
| Termination Type(s): | change in government |
Former and Successor Group Information
| Predecessor group(s): | none |
| Successor group(s): | none |
| Private Military Company? | no |
| Former Group? | no |
| Former Armed Group? | no |
| Former Rebel Group? | no |
| Former Rebel Group UCDP ID: | none |
| PGM Becomes Rebel Group? | no information |
| Successor Rebel Group UCDP ID: | none |
Government Relation, Support, and Training
| Government Relation: | informal (type 1) |
| Created by the Government?: | yes | Main Creating Government Institution: | person/minister |
| Government Link(s): | person/minister |
| If link to party, name of party: | None |
| Training and Equipment: | yes |
| Shared Information and Joint Operations: | no information |
| Shared Personnel: | no information |
| Type(s) of Material Support: | domestic government; military; foreign support |
| State Sponsor(s): | none |
| Other Connection(s): | South Africa (Omega Strategic Services) |
Group Characteristics
| Membership: | mercenary; unemployed; ex soldiers |
| Primary Membership: | no information |
| Alternative Primary Membership: | no information |
| Location: | None |
| Force Strength: | [unknown, 2000] |
| Target(s): | unarmed political opposition, government critics |
| Purpose(s): | intimidate political opposition |
Ethnic Characteristics
| Ethnic Target(s): | none |
| Quality of Information for Ethnic Targeting: | not applicable |
| Ethnic Membership: | none |
| Quality of Information for Ethnic Membership: | not applicable |
| Ethnic Purpose: | none |
| Quality of Information for Ethnic Purpose: | not applicable |
Other Information
| Other Information: | Camara's militias were allegedly trained by South African military trainers. |
New Variables from Meta-Analysis
Purpose
| Purpose: | The militia was created by Camara to target political opposition. Camara’s regime wanted to secure its hold on power before elections in 2010. |
| Relative Benefit(s) of PGM Use | unknown |
Treatment of Civilians
| Treatment of Civilians: | In 2009, militiamen attacked opposition supporters in a joint operation with the regular military. As the government wanted to quell political dissent, it supported the use of violence against civilians. |
| Type(s) of Violence against Civilians: | killing |
Reasons for Membership
| PGM Members Coerced? | no information |
| PGM Members Paid? | no information |
| Reasons for Membership: | Former combatants from conflicts in Sierra Leone and Liberia were members of the militia. Mercenaries from South Africa and unemployed Guineans from the Forest region were also reported to be members of the group. |
| PGM Members Killed? | no information |
PGM Size
| Size: | One source reports that the PGM recruited 2,000 militiamen. |
Weapons and Training
| Weapons and Training: | The South African company “Omega Strategic Services” provided military training to Camara’s militia. The regular armed forces also trained the militia. |
Organisation
| Organisation: | The militia was created by Moussa Camara. Claude Pivi, a member of the Guinea’s military junta, established training centers for Camara’s militia and other PGMs. According the sources, these training centers were not linked to the defense ministry. |
Reference(s) for Meta-Analysis
Evidence
- Examine the evidence for this coding.