CONAKRY (AFP) - Guineas newly installed president survived a rocket attack on his residence that left one dead Tuesday and led to the arrest of the coup-prone countrys former army chief. A group of rogue soldiers opened fire on Alpha Condes residence overnight, sparking a two-hour gun battle that rattled the first democratically elected Guinean president after seven months in power. My house was attacked last night but I congratulate the presidential guard who fought heroically from 3:10 am until 5:00 am (local and GMT) before backup arrived, Conde said on state television. Conde later told French radio station RFI that he avoided being hurt in the overnight attack because he was not sleeping in his bedroom when it was blasted with bazookas and rocket-propelled grenades. The president said two military leaders were detained. We have managed to get hold of the deviant military chiefs, he said. The two principal leaders have been arrested. Conde did not provide names but former army chief Nouhou Thiam fired by the president shortly after taking office was arrested in the wake of the attack, his wife told AFP. Presidential chief of staff Francois Fall said that one member of presidential guard was killed in the fighting. Two other soldiers were injured in the attack which prompted Prime Minister Mohamed Said Fofana to convene an emergency meeting of the countrys security chiefs. The tension comes seven months after Conde took office following his victory over rival Cellou Dalein Diallo in the countrys first democratic election since independence from France in 1958. Diallo, who is currently in Dakar, called for an investigation and told AFP the attack was regrettable. I hope it doesnt affect the nations unity, democratic process and already fragile social fabric, he said. The November election of Guineas perennial political opponent won international praise as a transparent poll despite an ensuing police crackdown on protests that left seven dead and hundreds wounded. The 73-year-old Conde faces the huge task of turning around a nation plagued by decades of deadly political violence and ethnic gamesmanship. The president tried to reassure the population Tuesday. Our enemies can try everything, but they cannot prevent the Guinean peoples march towards democracy, he said. A Guinean source in France said: This is not a coup detat. There was no attempt to take control of roads or the airport. The parliamentary election was due six months after the inauguration and Condes insistence that a new census should come first has drawn criticism. France condemned the attack and urged the military to commit to democracy but also stressed that polls needed to be held soon. It is important that democracy in Guinea now be consolidated, through calm and respectful political dialogue of all concerned and by holding legislative elections soon, foreign ministry spokesman Bernard Valero said. Guinea has a long history of coups and attempted coups, the last coming in December 2008 when a young army officer, Captain Moussa Dadis Camara, seized power after the death of Lansana Conte, who had been in power 24 years. In September 2009, security forces massacred over 150 people at a protest against the junta. A few months later Camara was shot and wounded by a close aide and overthrown. A transition government led by General Sekouba Konate then steered the country to its first democratic vote in November last year. Conde suggested that the attack may have been masterminded by rogue army officers displeased at recent measures he took to tackle corruption in the military. Clearly some people are not happy about the reforms, he told RFI. The country remains poor despite its mineral wealth as the worlds leading exporter of bauxite, the ore that is the main provider of aluminium.