Opposition launches fresh protests in Guinea

Anti-government Guinean protesters have staged a series of fresh protest rallies following deadly clashes between demonstrators and police last week.

On Monday, hundreds of demonstrators poured onto the streets of several districts and suburbs of the capital, Conakry.

The protesters shouted slogans, burnt tires and barricaded roads during the demonstrations across the troubled region.  

Authorities had deployed large contingents of police and paramilitary troops to most parts of the capital to prevent unwanted incidents.

Violence erupted when protesters threw rocks at police forces, who attacked the protesters shortly afterward, hurling tear gas canisters at the demonstrators to disperse the crowds.

The government said in a statement that angry demonstrators caused extensive damage to public properties and a trainee policeman was seriously wounded.

Guinean law enforcement agencies say they have arrested at least two protesters for involvement in violent incidents.

Meanwhile, the government and opposition trade accusations for the violence.

"As soon as demonstrations start in Conakry they always start by hitting the UFR headquarters with tear gas to prevent us from mobilizing and going out," media outlets quoted former prime minister, Sidya Toure, of the Union of Republican Forces (UFR), as saying.

On April 13 and 14, hundreds of protesters hurled stones at police who responded with tear gas and warning shots. The opposition said three people were killed and 50 wounded in the clashes.

President Alpha Conde was recently blamed by opposition leaders for insecurity in the country.

The opposition supporters have protested over the electoral timetable, which they claim gives the ruling party an unfair advantage. The opposition has accused President Conde of using the Ebola epidemic as an excuse to postpone voting.

The opposition supporters are demanding that local elections due in March next year be brought forward. 

Guinea’s parliament was boycotted in March by the opposition which withdrew its lawmakers from parliament in protest at the timetable for presidential election.

The last parliamentary elections, initially scheduled for 2013, were postponed by almost three years on account of violent ethnic tensions, which have been unprecedented since Guinea’s independence.

Guinea, located in West Africa, is one of the poorest countries in the region. It gained independence from France in 1958, but ever since has been run by a series of autocratic rulers.

JR/KA/SS

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