One dead, two injured in clashes in Guinea
By People Daily, March 9, 2020One Guinean protester was killed and two others injured in Wanidara, a suburb of Conakry, local medical source said Thursday.
Following the call for demonstrations launched Thursday by the National Front for the Defense of the Constitution (FNDC), composed of political parties and civil society, hundreds of young protesters went out early in the morning to barricade the roads and burn tires, in several places in the commune of Ratoma, known as the main fief of the opposition.
During these violent clashes between the young people and law enforcement officers (police and gendarmes), the security forces allegedly used tear gas, injuring three young people, one of whom died from his injuries at the Sino-Guinean Friendship Hospital.
The victim is said to be a sheet metal worker of around 20. The two injured were being treated at hospital, the source said. In the commune of Ratoma, daily activities were largely paralyzed amid blocked roads, closed shops and stores, and interrupted traffic.
This demonstration in Conakry was not authorized by the local communes. By far, the Guinean government has made no communication on the state of the protest.
Guinean President Alpha Conde announced last Friday in a televised speech that the double ballot for the legislative elections and the constitutional referendum, originally scheduled for March 1 in Guinea, has been postponed for two weeks.
For several months, the FNDC has organized demonstrations to protest against the change of the constitution and against the organization of legislative election, which “do not respect the spirit of the electoral law in the country.” (Xinhua)