Conakry – Guinea police fired tear gas on Saturday to disperse dozens of protesters in the capital Conakry demanding freedom of movement for deposed president Alpha Conde, an AFP reporter saw.
The clashes were the first such incident since a junta led by Lieutenant Colonel Mamady Doumbouya in September toppled the 83-year-old after 11 years in power.
Conde’s party had called for a rally outside its headquarters near the airport, but supporters arrived on Saturday morning to find security forces deployed in the area, and scuffles broke out.
The ousted president was held in secret for 12 weeks following the coup on September 5, until the junta authorised him to be sent to live in his wife’s home in the capital’s suburbs.
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The Guinean press has reported he is under house arrest.
Conde became Guinea’s first democratically elected leader in 2010, but last year sparked mass protests when he changed the constitution to allow himself to seek a third term.
Though he was re-elected, his critics denounced the poll as a sham.
Angered by poverty, corruption and repression, Guineans have welcomed the coup – for now.
Doumbouya has promised to return the country to civilian rule after elections, the date of which remains unknown.
The West African country has immense mineral and water resources, but more than 43 percent of the population lives in poverty, according to the World Bank.
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Source: AFP
Picture: Getty Images
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