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Two Guineans die in pre-election tension in Conakry

Supporters of Guinea’s President Alpha Conde and presidential candidate hold placards reading, “Thank you Bobody” and “Staff Wantanamo” during a presidential election campaign in Conakry, October 8, 2015. (AFP)

In Guinea, clashes between supporters of rival political parties have taken toll on the lives of at least two people ahead of the October 11 presidential election.

On Thursday, clashes erupted between supporters of incumbent President Alpha Conde, and leading opposition rival Cellou Dalein Diallo near Madina market in the capital, Conakry, said General Ibrahima Balde, Guinea’s gendarmerie chief-of-staff.

In a different account, however, Guinea’s Interior Minister Mahmoud Cisse said that according to hospital sources one person had died and 20 had been injured.

“No threat to public order will be tolerated,” the interior minister warned.

The election campaign in the country has been peaceful for the most part, with tensions only reported from Conakry.

President Conde hails from the Malinke, also known as Mandingo, ethnic group, and he has been president since 2010. The long-time political activist who served time in exile and prison took over from a military junta which seized power after the death of President Lansana Conte in 2008.

President Alpha Conde of Guinea and presidential candidate, 2nd left, waves at supporters during a presidential election campaign in Conakry, October 8, 2015. (AFP)

 

His number-one rival, Diallo, is a member of Peul, also known as Fulas or Fulani ethnic group.

More than a third of the population in Guinea is Malinke and one-fourth is Peul. The rest of the people in the country belong to smaller ethnic groups.


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