EU imposes arms embargo on Guinea

Oct 27, 2009, 14:00 GMT

Luxembourg - European Union foreign ministers on Tuesday outlawed the sale of arms to Guinea in punishment for the shooting in September of unarmed demonstrators.

EU member states 'strongly condemn the violent crackdown on unarmed civilians on September 28 in Conakry which resulted in gross violations of human rights, including many deaths, injuries and rapes,' ministers said in a joint statement.

The EU has 'decided to impose an arms embargo on Guinea' and to slap sanctions on members of the government 'and individuals associated with them, responsible for the violent crackdown or the political stalemate in the country,' the statement said.

The violence broke out in September when protesters against the junta of Captain Moussa Dadis Camara gathered at a football stadium in Conakry. The junta had banned the planned demonstration, but attempts to control it turned into a massacre when police sprayed the crowd with bullets.

After the killings, France, the former colonial power, suspended military cooperation with Guinea.

   The EU is traditionally Guinea's largest aid donor, but it froze all development aid to the country in April following Camara's seizure of power. Humanitarian aid is still flowing.

   According to officials in the European Commission, the EU's executive which oversees EU-level aid payments, the bloc has frozen 290 million euros' (424 million dollars') worth in support.