Published on : 30/07/2022 – 11:46
In Guinea, calls to demonstrate once morest the junta have been suspended. The National Front for the Defense of the Constitution (FNDC) announced, Friday, July 29, in a press release, a one-week truce. An announcement that follows an interview with Umaro Sissoco Embalo, president of Guinea-Bissau, current president of ECOWAS.
With our correspondent in Conakry, Moctar Bah
New demonstrations once morest the ruling junta in Guinea took place on Friday in Conakry at the call of the National Front for the Defense of the Constitution (FNDC). Clashes broke out between demonstrators and the police, killing one person, according to the prosecution, four according to the organizers. Dozens of people were also injured. The person who lost his life is a 65-year-old man. According to testimonies, the latter who was in front of a restaurant, his place of work, was hit by a stray bullet.
The massive deployment of police and gendarmerie forces did not deter young people from the capital’s suburbs, who even disrupted Friday prayers in places. We have seen, in the streets, chases between demonstrators and the police, provoking bloody clashes in the red light districts of the capital, traditionally favorable to the opposition.
The security forces, having used tear gas, the demonstrators responded by throwing stones, others were also armed with sticks. This violence also caused material damage in the capital, for example burnt tires on public roads or several damaged law enforcement vehicles.
These violent demonstrations started Thursday at the call of the FNDC to denounce the unilateral transition management by the junta, which pledged to hand over power to elected civilians within three years.
Regardless of the demands of the FNDC, which denounces a lack of transparency in the transition, some young demonstrators, interviewed by RFI, said: “ The government made us fail our various national exams. We will derail the transition. As a reminder, the 2022 baccalaureate exam recorded only 9% success.