EXPLAINER: Why is history repeating itself in Guinea's coup?

Many hoped that Guinea’s landmark 2010 election would finally give the West African country a democratic leader after decades of corrupt dictatorship

DAKAR, Senegal -- Many hoped that Guinea's landmark 2010 election would finally bring the West African country a democratic leader after decades of corrupt dictatorship. Instead President Alpha Conde decided to stick around for a third term, modifying the constitution so that the term limits no longer applied to him. His plan to extend his rule prompted violent street protests in the capital, Conakry, last year — and ultimately sealed Conde's fate as vulnerable to a military coup. Now soldiers in fatigues have once again crowded around a table this week to broadcast a statement — just as others have done so many times before in West Africa — decrying a corrupt president who they say wouldn't have left office any other way. Here is a look at how the region has confronted military coups like this in the past, and what scenarios could unfold in the coming weeks.