CONAKRY (Reuters) – An anti-government movement was planning fresh protests in Guinean cities on Thursday after its leaders said at least seven people had been killed and 32 injured during demonstrations in the capital Conakry and other cities the previous day.
Police in riot gear cracked down on stone-throwing and tire-burning protesters on Wednesday, the latest in a series of protests against the military government that seized power in 2021 and has been slow to return power to civilians.
Small-scale protests also took place in Nzerekore, a city in the southeast, and in the central city of Dabola.
Opposition parties and civil society groups said in a joint statement Wednesday night that at least seven people had been shot dead and 32 others had suffered gunshot wounds.
They added that 56 arrests had been reported and said a second day of peaceful demonstrations would take place on Thursday as scheduled.
The government has not responded to the allegations. Police did not respond to a request for comment.
There have been several protests in Guinea since the junta took power, some of which have turned deadly after clashes with heavy-handed security forces.
The country’s military government is one of several in West Africa that seized power in a series of coups since 2020 and is now dragging its feet on election promises.
Guinean authorities proposed a two-year transition to democracy last October, down from a three-year timetable previously rejected by the regional political and economic bloc ECOWAS.
(Reporting by Saliou Samb; Writing by Sofia Christensen; Editing by Gareth Jones)