Some 1,000 representatives of political parties, trade unions, religious faiths and civil associations gathered in the open air at the junta's base, the sprawling Campa Alfa Yaya Diallo, near Conakry's international airport.

The meeting, chaired by coup leader and self-styled new president Captain Moussa Dadis Camara, had been called for 1000 GMT (6pm Singapore time) but did not get under way until two hours later.

Those present included the speaker of parliament, Aboubacar Sompare, who under the constitution should have succeeded as acting head of state following the death late Monday of President Lansana Conte.

Mr Sompare had contested the legitimacy of the coup leaders who seized power within hours of Conte's death, but was undermined on Thursday when prime minister Tidiane Souare and his government pledged loyalty to Camara.

Also at the meeting were opposition leaders Alpha Conde and Sydia Toure, as well as trade union chief Rabiatou Serah Diallo, a consistent opponent of Conte's 24-year rule.

The junta, in a statement read on national radio, had called two 'informational meetings' for Saturday.

The second one, timed for 1200 GMT (8pm Singapore time), was for envoys of the United Nations, European Union and African Union, the Group of Eight leading industralised countries and the Economic Community of West African States regional bloc.

The coup has been largely condemned abroad and the African Union said Saturday it would continue to oppose the coup as unconstitutional.

However the junta on Friday was backed by regional heavyweight Senegal, whose President Abdoulaye Wade said Camara was an honest young man who had taken power to fill a dangerous vacuum. -- AFP