Wednesday (May 10th) protests in Guinea against the ruling junta killed seven people and left more than 30 wounded by gunfire, said the opposition collective that organized them. The Guinean authorities, contacted by AFP on Wednesday evening to confirm and deny the assessment given by the Forces vives de Guinée, a collective made up of parties, unions and civil society organizations, were unreachable. The collective announced "the murder of seven citizens by bullet and 32 wounded by bullet including 13 serious cases", in a statement giving "a provisional assessment" transmitted Wednesday evening to AFP. It also reports "56 arrests" and "calls for the continuation of peaceful and citizen demonstrations this Thursday, May 11," in this statement.
The Forces vives de Guinée had called on May 3 for a resumption of demonstrations with a series of protests in Conakry and the country from Wednesday, in a country where the latter are often deadly. They demand the opening of a credible dialogue with a view to a swift return of civilians to the rule of the country, the lifting of the ban on all demonstrations introduced by the junta in 2022 and the release of their imprisoned members as well as an end to what they denounce as judicial "harassment" by the authorities. Among the demands is the release of three civil society figures, Oumar Sylla, alias Foniké Mangué, Ibrahima Diallo and Mamadou Billo Bah.
Attempted mediation
The protests are resuming as religious leaders attempt to mediate between the collective and the junta that overthrew President Alpha Condé in 2021. The junta said it was ready to release Foniké Mangué, Ibrahima Diallo and Mamadou Billo Bah and lift the judicial control measures imposed on a number of opponents, the mediation said in a statement. Lawyers for the three men, however, reported that the junta was conditioning their release on abandoning their commitment, which they refused.
Guinean Prime Minister Bernard Gomou on Wednesday reaffirmed the junta's readiness to hold talks with the opposition. The military has pledged under international pressure to make way for elected civilians by the end of 2024, the time to carry out deep reforms, they say.