Within hours of the death of the authoritarian President Lansana Conte, a hitherto unknown military-led group said it had seized power in the West African state of Guinea on Tuesday, claiming it had suspended the Constitution and government, according to news reports.

But, soon afterward, the government denied the claim. Prime Minister Ahmed Tidiane Souare said in a state broadcast that he was speaking from his office and that his government “continues to function as it should,” The Associated Press reported.

The Prime Minister was responding to statements by a uniformed army officer, who was reported as announcing on state television and radio that a group calling itself the National Council for Democracy and Development was “taking charge of the destiny of the Guinean people.” “The constitution is dissolved,” the officer was quoted as saying. “The government is dissolved. The institutions of the republic are dissolved.” Adding to the sense of confusion and crisis, the AP said one of its reporters saw tanks and troops heading toward the presidential compound in the capital, Conakry.

The claimed coup mirrored Mr. Conté’s own rise to power in a military takeover in 1984, following the death of his predecessor, Ahmed Sekou Toure. Mr Sekou Toure had ruled with an iron fist since the country’s independence in 1958.

The latest reports of military action underscored concern about the future of multi-party rule in Africa only years after the continent seemed to be enjoying a steady blossoming of democracy.

The African Union, the continent’s biggest representative group, expressed concern at the military’s action in Guinea.

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