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At least eight civilians and one police officer have died in violence following the weekend's tense presidential election, in clashes between security forces and opposition supporters, Guinea's security ministry said on Wednesday. President Alpha Condé called for calm.
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In a statement, the ministry pointed to shootings and stabbings in Guinea’s capital Conakry and elsewhere in the country since Sunday's presidential vote.
The ministry said in a statement that "this strategy of chaos [was] orchestrated to jeopardise the elections of October 18," and also pointed to numerous people who were wounded in the unrest.
"I reiterate my appeal to all to calm and serenity, pending the outcome of the electoral process under way in our country," President Condé said in a statement. "If victory is mine, I remain open to dialogue and available to work with all Guineans."
Ongoing clashes
Clashes were ongoing in Conakry on Wednesday, where a security officer, Mamadou Keganan Doumbouya, told AFP that at least three people had died.
Many other were injured when supporters of Condé's main rival Cellou Dalein Diallo set alight piles of old furniture and burned tyres in some opposition neighbourhoods of Conakry, Security Minister Damantang Albert Camara said.
Youths in alleyways also hurled stones at police officers stationed along a main artery who fired back tear gas cannisters.
Hadjiratou Barry, a resident of a Conakary district where clashes were taking place, also told AFP – through tears – that her brother had been shot dead.
And a local doctor, who declined to be named, said he had received two dead bodies, and nine injured people, at his clinic.
Main opposition Diallo claims victory before official results
The unrest follows a high-stakes presidential election on Sunday, in which Condé ran for a third term in a controversial bid that had already sparked mass protests in the West African country.
At least 12 people are reported to have been killed in violence since the election, in which Diallo claimed victory on Monday based on his campaign's tallies. It worsened the already-tense post-electoral ambiance, as the official results have not yet been announced – they are expected this week.
Opposition supporters are deeply suspicious about the fairness of the poll, although the government insists that it was fair.
Much of the tension in Guinea centres on Condé's candidacy, and security forces repressed mass protests against the move from October last year, killing dozens of people.
In March, the 82-year-old president pushed through a new constitution that he argued would modernise the country. It also allowed him to bypass aRead More – Source
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