Two killed in Guinea protests

Security forces in Guinea have shot dead two protestors on the first day of renewed protests against President Alpha Condé’s suspected plan to amend the constitution so that he can serve a third term. 

One student protestor was killed in the capital of Conakry, while a second was killed in the northern city of Labé. 

Several members of the coalition of politicians and activists that called the demonstrations have been arrested.

President Condé has been in power since the country’s first democratic election in 2010, serving the maximum two terms allowed under the constitution. Ahead of next year’s election, however, he has been dropping hints that he might amend the constitution to allow him to stand again. In September, Condé publicly instructed the prime minister to “initiate consultation to gather the opinion of others in an open exchange”. 

Protests have been ongoing for months, with the capital city of Conarky largely deserted on Monday. But locals say it is unclear how long businesses, schools and markets can remain closed. 

Previous demonstrations against President Condé have been violently put down by security forces, causing at least 20 deaths. 

Nadia Nahman, chief of staff for opposition leader Cellou Dalein Diallo, has said of Condé’s response to the protests that he is “ready to walk on the bodies of Guineans to take a third term. Killing one’s compatriots to satisfy one’s disproportionate obsession with power is inhuman and despicable.”

Photo credit: AFP