webGuinée

Alpha Camara (Conakry), Joost van Egmond (Dakar), Jason McLure (Addis Ababa)
Guinea Death Toll More Than 200, Opposition Says (Update2)

Bloomberg News
Sept. 29, 2009

Sept. 29 (Bloomberg) — The number of people killed yesterday when Guinean security forces opened fire at a demonstration against Captain Moussa Dadis Camara, the leader of the country’s military junta, exceeds 200, an opposition leader said.

“While we were in hospital being treated for our injuries, doctors told us that 85 bodies of people killed were in the mortuary at the Donka hospital, and more than 100 others in the Ignace Deen hospital in Conakry,” Muctar Diallo, leader of the opposition New Democratic Forces party, said by phone from the city today. “We counted more bodies in other hospitals to bring the total of those killed to more than 200.”

The African Union, European Union, Economic Community of West African States and United Nations today rebuked the Guinean army’s use of violence at the protest in the city’s stadium against Camara’s decision to run in presidential elections in January.

Earlier, Alimou Diallo, a doctor at the Ignace Deen hospital, said in a telephone interview that at least 89 protesters had died. Agence France-Presse reported 157 people had been killed and 1,253 wounded, citing Thierno Maadjou Sow, head of the Guinean Human Rights Organization.

The AU’s commission “strongly condemns the indiscriminate firing on unarmed civilians,” it said in an e-mailed statement today. “The commission demands the unconditional and immediate release of those arrested.”

EU Foreign Policy Chief Javier Solana also condemned the violent crackdown in Conakry and urged the authorities to show restraint, according to a statement released in Brussels today.

‘Maximum Restraint’

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon urged authorities in Guinea and the security forces “to exercise maximum restraint and to uphold the rule of law, including respect for basic human rights,” according to a statement.

“The killing of dozens of unarmed protesters is shocking, even by the abusive standards of Guinea’s coup government,” said Corinne Dufka, senior West Africa researcher at New-York- based Human Rights Watch. “Guinea’s leaders should order an immediate end to attacks on demonstrators and bring to justice those responsible for the bloodshed.”

Camara seized power on Dec. 23, a day after the death of President Lansana Conte, who had ruled the country for two decades. Under Conte’s rule, elections were delayed and dissent repressed. At least 110 people were killed by security forces in early 2007 after demonstrations demanding Conte’s resignation, according to Human Rights Watch. The year before, soldiers shot dead 13 unarmed people during protests against rising food.

Suspended Constitution

After the coup, Camara suspended the constitution and pledged to relinquish control to a civilian government and not to run in national elections.

Following Camara’s decision, the AU threatened possible sanctions against the military leadership unless the junta leaders agreed by Oct. 18 not to run in the election.

Senegal, the only country to back the military junta, called on Guinea to “ensure the protection of individuals,” condemning yesterday’s violence for “compromising the peace, security and democratic transition in Guinea,” Communication Minister Moustapha Guirassy said in a statement. Senegal also offered to treat those wounded in the attack in its hospitals.

Guinea, which lies on Africa’s west coast, is the world’s biggest exporter of bauxite, a raw material used in aluminum production.