‘African Union head: It seems like a coup’

Alpha Conde, who is also president of Guinea, has said the military takeover is “clearly soldiers trying to take power by force”.

The African Union (AU) head called on the military to stop what they were doing – which he said “seems like a coup”, according to news agency AFP.

This contradicts the Zimbabwean military’s stance, which is that the events of the last 24 hours are not a coup.

Why are they so keen to avoid the term?