For regular watchers of "The Dadis Show" -- the television broadcasts made by Guinea's self-promoting junta leader, Capt. Moussa Dadis Camara, since taking power in a bloodless coup in December 2008 -- the events of the last month have built into a cliffhanger. But whether it will mark the series' season finale, or its last bow, remains to be seen.
Dadis is currently convalescing at a hospital in Morocco after being shot in the head at close range on Dec. 3. His close confidante and head of the presidential guard, Lt. Abubakar "Toumba" Diakite, admitted in an interview on Dec. 15 that he had pulled the trigger, but insisted he had acted in self-defense.
The assassination attempt has put more at stake in Guinea than just the life of its self-proclaimed leader, however. In a country that has never had a viable civilian government, it has exposed the deep fractures in the military and presented a very real risk of "explosive" violence among its various factions, human rights activists warn.