- Title: Guinea's suppression of protests stokes anger as junta loses shine
- Date: 25th May 2023
- Summary: CONAKRY, GUINEA (MAY 11, 2023) (REUTERS) BLOOD SPLATTERED ON THE CONCRETE WALL CONAKRY, GUINEA (MAY 17, 2023) (REUTERS) SHOES OF SLAIN TEENAGER, BOUBACAR DIALLO VARIOUS OF FAMILY OF SLAIN TEENAGER SIFTING THROUGH BAG OF BLOOD-STAINED CLOTHES
- Embargoed: 8th June 2023 07:56
- Keywords: africa civil unrest conakry emerging markets government guinea politics violence west africa
- Location: CONAKRY, GUINEA
- City: CONAKRY, GUINEA
- Country: Guinea
- Topics: Africa,Conflicts/War/Peace,Civil Unrest
- Reuters ID: LVA001175611052023RP1
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text: CONTAINS GRAPHIC IMAGES
With the stinging smell of burning tires fresh in the air, Mariame Diallo pointed to blood splatters on a wall where she said police shot her brother at close range during a protest against Guinea's military government on May 11.
"I will never forgive those who killed him," she said between bouts of quiet crying.
Sifting through a bag of blood-soaked clothes that she hopes will be used for a police investigation that has yet to arrive, she recalled how her teenage brother Boubacar, fearing the anti-government demonstrations, stayed at home, only to be shot dead in front of their family house.Â
A spokesman for Guinea's government did not respond to a request for comment. Â
Diallo's brother is one of seven people killed in Guinea as anti-government protests and violent clashes with Guinea's security forces gain momentum over frustrations with the West African nation's military leaders overseeing the country's return to democratic rule.
Smoke billowing from burning tyres and other debris has become a more common sight in the capital Conakry since fuel price hikes triggered the first major protest against the military government last June.Â
Many more protests followed. At least 32 were injured in unrest this month, and the army was deployed to quell planned demonstrations in the capital last week.
"These calls to protest are very regrettable, but it's their sponsors who are solely responsible for this," Guinea's transitional prime minister Bernard Goumou in a speech following the demonstrations on May 11.
It was the latest clampdown as anger mounts against juntas that have seized power in a series of coups in the West & Central Africa region since 2020, with frustrations growing over the slow pace of planned return to constitutional rule.
Transitional authorities in Burkina Faso and Mali have also grown increasingly hostile towards critics who have highlighted their failures to protect citizens from jihadist insurgents - a factor that helped spur the military takeovers.
In Guinea, opposition political parties had at first cautiously welcomed the September 2021 coup that ousted long-serving President Alpha Conde, who sparked anger for changing the constitution to allow him to run for a third term.
But relations with junta leader Colonel Mamady Doumbouya soured after main opposition parties rejected a 36-month transition to elections approved by the interim parliament last May.
Doumbouya's government banned all public demonstrations in response and has since cracked down on the string of nationwide street protests that ensued, drawing a rebuke from rights groups and the United Nations.
At least 24 people have been killed since June and dozens arrested, including high-profile activists, opposition parties and civil society groups say.
Authorities have acknowledged "victims" but not given a figure.
"We always hear that investigations are ongoing, [and] the security forces who are supposed to maintain order ignore their vocation," pro-democracy activist Bangaly Fofana said. "We cannot accept this."
Last week, angry crowds gathered around the grieving relatives and friends of people killed in the latest unrest. Many were crying and holding up pictures of their loved ones on their phones.
Some spoke of revenge, while others, like Diallo family friend Mamadou Djouma Bah, stared in quiet resignation at cellphone images of Boubacar Diallo's bullet-ridden body.
"They walked into the neighborhood while shooting at men and women," Bah said with a crowd of mourners at his back. "We transported [Boubacar] to the nearest hospital, but his intestines had spilled out. He died during the night."
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