Dec. 24 (Bloomberg) -- A faction of Guinea’s military said it’s naming Captain Moussa Camara to head a council to rule the west African nation after a coup following the death of President Lansana Conte.

The council of 26 army officers and six civilians will hold power until elections are held in December 2010, Camara said on state television and radio. Conte, who ruled the country for 24 years, died on Dec. 22 at age 74, and a group of army officers said the next day it dissolved the government and constitution. Guinea has never had a democratic transition of power.

Camara told journalists late today that he’s the new “president of the republic,” Agence France-Presse reported. He said there’s been a “big movement of support” in Guinea “from the military camp to the level of the presidential palace.”

A nationwide curfew that was to begin at 8 p.m. local time and run through 6 a.m. tomorrow was delayed until Dec. 26 for the Christmas holiday, AFP said, citing a statement read on national radio. Several hundred soldiers backing Camara paraded through the capital, Conakry, late today, AFP said.

“Guinea’s political stability, which had been declining for years, has finally hit rock bottom,” Sebastian Spio-Garbrah, an analyst at the New York-based Eurasia Group, said in an e-mailed note to clients. “Expect several months of political chaos with a high possibility of further coups, counter coups and sham elections amid a period of ethnic and political disequilibrium.”

Bauxite Reserves

Guinea, a nation of 9.4 million people, holds the world’s biggest reserves of bauxite, an ore used to make the aluminum ingredient alumina. Violent protests in early 2007 caused the price of alumina to jump 76 percent in two months. Rio Tinto Alcan Inc.,Alcoa Inc., United Co. Rusal and AngloGold Ashanti Ltd. operate in the country.

Government officials and the army leader, General Diarra Camara, told Radio France Internationale that the government hasn’t been dissolved and most members of the army are loyal.

Coup leader Camara denounced “the attitude of certain generals,” whom he accused of continuing to support the fallen government and planning to hire mercenaries to reinstate it. “Such behavior denotes a lack of respect towards the people of Guinea whom we defend and protect unconditionally,” he said.

State radio announced that Camara will be appointed president at the Palais de Nations in Conakry.

Coup Resurgence

National Assembly President Aboubacar Sompare called on the international community to prevent the coup, according to Reuters. Loyalists and coup leaders have met at a military camp, without reaching an agreement, he told the newswire.

The African Union’s peace and security council, meeting in the Ethiopian capital, Addis Ababa, condemned the coup and urged Guineans to respect their constitution.

The council “expresses grave concern about the resurgence of the phenomenon of coup d’etat, which constitutes a threat to peace and security on the continent, as well as a very serious setback in the ongoing democratization process in Africa,” the AU said in an e-mailed statement

Rio Tinto Group, which is exploring part of the Simandou iron ore deposit, yesterday told its staff in the capital to stay at home. BHP Billiton Ltd., which plans to develop an alumina refinery and bauxite mine in a venture with Global Alumina Corp., has shut its Conakry office.

The Bush administration and United Nations yesterday led calls for a democratic transfer of power in Guinea. The AU and the Economic Community of West African States also condemned the coup.

‘Democratic Process’

The UN “urges the armed forces and all stakeholders to respect the democratic process,” Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon’s office said in a statement.

Former president Conte’s rule was characterized by delayed elections, boycotted referendums, strikes and protests.

The group of army officers that has taken over calls itself the National Council for Democracy and Development and says it plans to set up an inclusive government representing all ethnic groups.

Guinea’s population is mainly divided among three ethnic groups, with the Peuhl, or Fulani, accounting for 40 percent, the Malinke 30 percent and Soussou 20 percent, according to the CIA Factbook. Conte was a Soussou.

The army faction that appointed the council consists of Malinke officers, Spio-Garbrah said.

Ethnic Tension

“If the Camara-led junta is not itself toppled by some other group, most likely led by either Fulanis or even ethnic Soussou senior army officers, the underlying ethnic and political tensions in the country will soon surface,” he said.

In a statement read on state radio yesterday, Camara cited “the incapacity of the government to supply Guineans with basic social services” as the reason for the takeover. He also criticized its failure to revise contracts with mining companies.

Conte was a career soldier who seized power on April 3, 1984, after the death of president Ahmed Sekou Toure. He died after a long illness, having suffered from chronic diabetes and was once diagnosed with leukemia.

A state funeral will be held for Conte tomorrow, AFP reported, citing an unidentified family member.

Guinea, a former French colony, produced 14 million metric tons of bauxite last year, according to the U.S. Geological Service. It is the world’s fourth-biggest producer of the ore after Australia, Brazil and China. Bauxite and related industries account for about 80 percent of its foreign exchange earnings.

Increased Protests

Conte’s government had to contend with increased protests against its rule in recent years.

At least 110 people were killed by security forces in early 2007 after demonstrations demanding Conte’s resignation, according to Human Rights Watch. The year before, soldiers shot dead 13 unarmed people during protests against rising food prices, the New York-based group said.

Guinea’s economy grew 1.8 percent last year, compared with 2.4 percent in 2006, according to the International Monetary Fund. It has a gross domestic product of $4.53 billion, according to the IMF. South Africa, the continent’s biggest economy, has a gross domestic product of $278 billion.

To contact the reporters on this story: Alpha Camara in Conakry, Guinea via Johannesburg at asguazzin@bloomberg.net; Antony Sguazzin in Johannesburg at asguazzin@bloomberg.net

Last Updated: December 24, 2008 16:57 EST