Guinea's president has survived an assassination attempt by gunmen who opened fire on his home, throwing into doubt the stability of the country's first democratically elected government.

President Alpha Condé was woken by the shooting, which erupted around his residence between 3am and 5am. A rocket-propelled grenade landed inside the compound, destroying part of it.

One of his bodyguards was killed and several others wounded, said François Louceny Fall, Condé's chief of staff. Condé, 73, addressed state radio saying his security detail had "heroically fought" until reinforcements arrived.

He called on the population to remain calm and said the attack would not derail the promises he made to voters seven months ago when he became the first democratically elected leader in Guinea's 52-year history.

Just hours later shooting broke out again nearof millions of dollars were invested by the international community to ensure last year's transparent vote, and a coup would be a major setback for the region, analysts say.

"It just shows the fragility of the country," said Guinea-based election expert Elizabeth Cote of the International Foundation for Election Systems, who worked for years overseeing voter registration and training of poll workers before last year's election. "It's hard to brand what just happened, but hopefully it can be a wake-up call," she said.

Political insiders say that Condé's relationship with the military is strained, and the ethnic tensions that were revealed by the vote are only getting worse.

Cellou Dalein Diallo, the Peul politician who lost to Condé, said in May that he was living abroad because he no longer felt