Guinea anti-government protest leaves 1 dead

CONAKRY, Guinea (AA) – A man was reportedly shot dead and several others were injured during an anti-government demonstration in Conakry, calling on the government to resign.

Protesters flooded streets of the capital Conakry against the regime of President Alpha Conde on Tuesday. They were demanding the government to resign over corruption allegations and called for better governance in the country.

“I received a dead body [and] others injured by gun fire. The deceased was called Thierno Hamidou Diallo. He was hit by a bullet in the neck,” Toupou Siba, a medical doctor at the Conakry hospital, said late Tuesday.

The demonstrators chanted slogans against President Conde and Minister of Justice Cheikh Sancho.

They were shouting “Alpha resign! Alpha Zero!” and “Cheikh Sancho Minister of Injustice!”

Mouctar Diallo, President of the opposition party New Democratic Forces said: "nearly two million took part in the march to send a strong message to the head of state."

"This mobilization is a demonstration of people against bad governance. That poor governance has aggravated poverty, democracy and human rights. Our country is suffering. Unemployment has reached unacceptable levels, " Diallo told the protesters.

"Political events are not always the solution. The opposition must agree to talk. In the past events we recorded deaths and material losses. Our security forces are not equipped to handle a crowd of thousands of people, " Bemba Traore, a high figure in the presidential party said.

In recent weeks, Guinean opposition has organized many meetings and gatherings encouraging the population to come out in massive crowd and protest the “governments embezzlement of public funds [and] corruption that plagues the government and insecurity."