Guinean Security Minister Moussa Sampil confirmed reports that President Lansana Conte escaped an assassination attempt unscathed Wednesday morning, according to reports from Conakry, capital of Guinea.

"There was an attempt on the life of the head of state," but the attackers failed to hit their target and were repelled by the president's guards, the minister said in a telephone interview with Radio France International.

Sampil described the failed assassination as a plot "against the regime," saying that investigation was underway and several suspects have been arrested.

Unidentified gunmen attacked Conte's motorcade as the latter passed the Enco Five district of Conakry.

Two president's guards were injured during the exchange of fire, and the condition of one of the two guards was serious.

Security in Conakry was stepped up immediately after the attack.

Conte became the Guinean president in a military coup in 1984.

Reportedly suffering from severe diabetes and stomach ulcer, he is rarely seen in public.

Guinea, a former French colony with a population of 8 million, is seen as relatively stable in the volatile west African region, compared with its neighbors such as Liberia, Sierra Leone and Cote d'Ivoire.

Source: Xinhua