Renegade Soldiers Shoot Guinea's President

A military aide to Guinea President Moussa Dadis Camara opened fire on him Thursday, slightly wounding the 45-year-old leader, according to his spokesman. The Associated Press reports that Guinea's armed forces contain a renegade faction due to the rift caused by a military-led massacre at a peaceful pro-democracy rally three months ago. Abubakar "Toumba" Diakite, the lieutenant accused of ordering that massacre (during which at least 157 were killed, and dozens raped), controls the military compound where Camara was shot Thursday. The president's spokesman accuses Toumba of ordering the attempted assassination as part of a power grab: "When you pull a gun on someone, is it your intention to scare him? No. Your intention is to kill him." The shooting coincides with the final days of a United Nations fact-finding mission to Guinea, during which Toumba asked the U.N. to "be open" in their judgment of the massacre.