By Saliou Samb
CONAKRY (Reuters) – At least one person was shot dead and several wounded during violent anti-government protests in Guinea’s capital on Thursday, an opposition coalition said.
The protest was spurred by concerns that Guinea’s ruling junta, which took power in a coup last September, is not moving quickly enough to restore civilian rule.
“The FNDC deplores the death, this afternoon in Hamdallaye, of a citizen hit by a bullet, several injured by live ammunition and numerous arrests,” said the National Front for the Defence of the Constitution (FNDC) in a statement late on Thursday.
A senior police official who declined to be named denied the information and said several police officers were injured.
Coup leader Mamady Doumbouya has proposed a 36-month transition to elections, which regional leaders and opposition politicians have rejected.
It was the second major protest against the junta in recent months. One person was killed in a protest over fuel price hikes in June, and Guinea charged a police officer with murder.
Following criticism of the 36-month timeline, the junta banned all public demonstrations several months ago.
Guinea’s attorney general ordered a judicial investigation into those responsible for the march.
The protest was called by the FNDC, a coalition of politicians and activists that also opposed former President Alpha Conde’s efforts to hold onto power.
Conde was overthrown last year after changing the constitution to allow himself to run for a third term in 2020.
(Reporting by Saliou Samb; Writing by Nellie Peyton and Angus MacSwan)
