Moussa Dadis Camara was born in 1964 in the remote town of Koulé, Nzérékoré Prefecture, in the Guinée Forestière region of southeastern Guinea, near the border with Côte d’Ivoire and Liberia. He is a member of the Kpelle ethnic group (known in Guinea as Guerze). Dadis attended primary and secondary school in Nzérékoré, about 24 miles (40 km) away from his birth-town of Koulé. He studied law and economics at Abdel Nasser University in the capital, Conakry.

He joined the Army of Guinea in 1990 as a corporal and was later appointed as the Chief of Fuels at the Guinean army base in Kindia, about 60 miles northeast of Conakry. From 2001 to 2002, Dadis was sent to Sierra Leone as a member of the United Nations’ peacekeeping troops. In 2004, President Conté sent Dadis, along with several other Guinean soldiers, to Bremen, Germany, for 18 months’ military training. In November 2008, he was named head of the Guinean army’s fuel supplies unit, a branch of the Guinean Minister of Defense’s cabinet. He was one of the leading mutineers in the 2008 Guinean military unrest. Prior to the December 2008 coup, he was not well known by the general population.

A statement was read over the radio on 24 December 2008, announcing that Captain Camara was the President of the CNDD. Later in the day, Camara and thousands of soldiers loyal to him paraded through the city, surrounded by large numbers of civilian supporters. According to Camara, he “came to see if the terrain is favorable to us”, declaring that the large crowds indicated that the people were indeed supportive of the coup. Also on 24 December, Camara said in a radio broadcast that the CNDD did not want to stay in power indefinitely and that it intended to lead the country for two years, promising “credible and transparent presidential elections by the end of December 2010”. This contradicted an earlier statement which promised an election within the constitutionally mandated period of 60 days.

On 25 December 2008, the Prime Minister under the previous régime, Ahmed Tidiane Souaré, pledged loyalty to Camara, thus further consolidating the latter’s rule. On 22 March 2009, Souaré was arrested and held in a military prison, along with two Mines Ministers (recalling that Guinea is the world’s largest exporter of bauxite, the necessary ore for aluminum).

On 28 September 2009, opposition party members demonstrated in the Stade du 28 Septembre in Conakry, demanding that Camara step down. Although many branches of security forces were involved, the presidential guard “Red Berets”, led by Abubakar “Toumba” Diakite, were responsible for the violence, firing on, knifing, bayonetting, and gang-raping the fleeing civilians, killing at least 157 people (U.N) and injuring at least 1,200 not just in the stadium but as many fled on streets. In response to criticism from international human rights organisations, the government has said that only 56 people died and most were trampled by fleeing protesters. Following the event, cell phone photos from anonymous sources circulated on the Internet, showing what appears to be many women being raped by Camara’s soldiers. Few women have spoken up about the attacks against them because of a societal stigma against the victims of sexual assault. However, Doctors Without Borders has confirmed that they have treated several rape and sexual violence victims of the incident. For a people already accustomed to violence, the rapes were nonetheless especially shocking as they took place in the open space, under broad daylight, and were horrifically violent and often mortal. According to numerous witness accounts, women were horrendously gang-raped using gun barrels and other objects. Some were raped then shot with the rifle barrel in their vaginas. The International Criminal Court is currently investigating the incident and the African Union asked for Camara’s resignation.

On 3 December 2009, Camara was shot by men under the command of his aide-de-camp, Abubakar “Toumba” Diakite. A government spokesman (Idrissa Cherif) said he was only lightly wounded, but anonymous junta officials said Camara was in a serious condition after being shot in the head. Camara’s bodyguard and driver were killed in the attack.

Vice-President (and defense minister) Sékouba Konaté flew back from Lebanon to run the country. On December 16, 2009 Diakite was still in hiding.

On December 17, 2009 a United States diplomatic agent sent information that Camara’s health was “not expected to return fully to [its] previous state” following the assassination attempt. Possible plans for restoring order were discussed.

In 2010, Camara converted from Islam to Roman Catholicism. Dadis speaks five languages: French, Kpelle, Susu, Maninka and German.

On January 12, 2010 Camara was flown to Burkina Faso. After meeting in Ouagadougou on January 13 and 14, Camara, Konaté and Blaise Compaoré, President of Burkina Faso, produced a formal statement of twelve principles promising a return of Guinea to civilian rule within six months. It was agreed that the military would not contest the forthcoming elections, and Camara would continue his convalescence outside Guinea. On 21 January 2010 the military junta appointed Jean-Marie Doré as Prime Minister of a six-month transition government, leading up to elections.