An elite unit of the Guinean army has declared that President Alpha Conde’s government had been dissolved and the West African nation’s borders closed. Earlier in the day, heavy gunfire was reported near the presidential palace in Guinea’s capital for hours, blamed by the Defense Ministry on a “group of assailants.” The presidential guard and other security forces had “contained the threat” and security and sweeping operations were underway to restore order and peace, the ministry said.

The coastal nation, formerly known as French Guinea, has a long history of military power grabs and coup attempts. The mutinous soldiers on Sunday seized control of state television and declared that ‘The National Committee of Gathering and Development’ was going to restore democracy in the country. Colonel Mamady Doumbouya, a former French legionnaire leading the elite national army unit behind the unrest, was seen draped in a Guinean flag alongside soldiers as he vowed to “save the country.”

Doumbouya made no mention of Conde‘s whereabouts, but an unverified video showed the 83-year-old leader surrounded in a room by soldiers after Sunday’s attack.

Videos shared on social media showed military vehicles patrolling capital Conkary’s streets.

“The personalization of political life is over. We will no longer entrust politics to one man, we will entrust it to the people,” Doumbouya said, referring to Conde’s hold over power after he sought a third term last year.

Conde came to power in 2010 in the country’s first democratic election since independence from France. But his popularity has been on the decline since his re-election in October led to violent street demonstrations in which dozens of people were killed.

Doumbouya, who announced that the constitution would be dissolved and borders closed for one week, said he was acting in the best interests of the nation of over 12.7 million people. Not enough economic progress has been made since independence from France in 1958, the colonel said.

“If you see the state of our roads, if you see the state of our hospitals, you realize that after 72 years, it’s time to wake up,” he said. “We have to wake up.”

In 2011, Conde survived an assassination attempt after gunmen pounded his bedroom with rockets. Rocket-propelled grenades also landed inside the compound and one of his bodyguards was killed.

(With inputs from Associated Press)