Conakry – A young man has been shot dead in the Guinean capital Conakry on the sidelines of a protest against rising fuel prices, his family said on Thursday.
“Thierno Mamadou Diallo was shot in the head” on Wednesday, Halimatou Diallo, the victim’s sister, told AFP.
Police and a public prosecutor have confirmed the death of a 19-year-old and promised to open an investigation.
It is one of the first civilian killings tied to clashes between security forces and demonstrators since Colonel Mamady Doumbouya seized power from former president Alpha Conde in September last year.
The two years leading up to the coup saw frequent protests against the former president’s plan to seek a third term.
ALSO READ | Guinea junta rejects UN call to end ban on protests
Human rights organisations say security forces killed dozens of civilian protesters during that period. Since then, Guinea has seen little to no unrest – until this week’s announcement of a gasoline price hike.
Diallo’s relatives say he was hit while out in the Hamdallaye district, where young people were demonstrating against the fuel price hikes.
His sister said he was caught in the fray when young people began throwing stones at a passing convoy of police and gendarmes.
“In the confusion, my brother took a bullet to the head,” she said.
An adoptive sister, Tahirou Diallo, said her brother was not taking part in the protest.
ALSO READ | Guinea junta allows ex-leader Conde to leave the country
She said he was out on an errand and was shot on his way back.
Public prosecutor Alphonse Charles Wright told reporters he had “learned with bitterness of the death of a young man named Theirno, aged 19, who died in circumstances not yet elucidated”.
Police spokesman Mory Kaba told AFP the circumstances of his death were not yet clear.
“We will open an investigation,” he said.
The National Front for the Defence of the Constitution (FNDC) – a Guinean coalition that opposed Conde’s regime – said in a statement that “the bloody repression” of Wednesday’s demonstrations contrasted with Doumbouya’s initial pledge “not to commit the same (killings) as his predecessors”.
In May, the junta banned all public demonstrations before a return to civilian rule, which it says will be in three years.
Follow African Insider on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram
Source: AFP
Picture: Getty Images
For more African news, visit Africaninsider.com
