Emerging reports suggest that President of Guinea, Alpha Condé, has been overthrown in a bloodless coup d’etat on Sunday.

An unverified video of the president being held hostage by soldiers has gone viral, fuelling concerns about his safety.

Although Guinea’s defence minister has been quoted as saying the attempted takeover had been thwarted, the fate of Guinean president is unclear at the moment.

Reuters reports that heavy gunfire broke out near the presidential palace in Guinea’s capital city of Conakry on Sunday morning.

Several sources also say an elite national army unit led by a former French legionnaire, Mamady Doumbouya, was behind the unrest.

At the moment, soldiers are patrolling the deserted streets of the city centre.

In a video shared on social media, soldiers from a unit of elite special forces asked President Condé to confirm he is unharmed but he refuses to respond.

His captors say all land and air borders have been closed and the government dissolved.

83-year-old Conde won a controversial third term in October, after tampering with the constitution.

He has had to contend with violent protests from the opposition.

This is not the first time attempts had been made to unseat Conde.

On July 20, at least 37 soldiers were arrested in Guinea following an attack on the president’s home.

The detained soldiers included high-ranking officers who were close to Guinea’s former military junta, officials said.

Recall that the junta handed power to Conde last year after he won the presidential election.

The coup was quelled after forces loyal to Conde had repelled the attack on his private residence in the capital, Conakry.