Guinea’s suppression of protests stokes anger against military

Anti-government protests are gaining momentum in Guinea as frustrations with the interim military government mount.

As the pungent smell of burning tires hung in the air, Conakry resident Mariame Diallo pointed to blood spatter on a wall where she said her teenage brother was shot at close range during a protest in the capital against Guinea’s military government on May 11 .

“I will never forgive those who killed him,” she said between bouts of silent crying.

With a bag of blood-soaked clothes in her hand, which she hopes will be used for a police investigation that has yet to begin, she recalls how her student brother, Boubacar, was frightened by the anti-government demonstrations, stayed at home and was then shot dead by police in front of the family’s house.

A spokesman for the government of Guinea did not respond to a request for comment.

Boubacar was one of seven people killed that day in the West African country as anti-government protests and violent clashes with security forces escalated amid frustrations with military leaders overseeing a promised return to democratic rule.

Smoke billowing from burning tires and other debris has become a common sight in the capital Conakry since increases in fuel prices sparked the first major protest against the military government last June.

Many more protests followed. Riots this month left at least 32 injured and last week the army was deployed to crack down on planned demonstrations in the capital.

It was the latest anger rising against military governments that have seized power since 2020 in a series of coups across the West and Central African region, with growing frustrations over the slow pace of a planned return to constitutional rule.

Transitional authorities in Burkina Faso and Mali have also become increasingly hostile to critics who have highlighted their failure to protect civilians from armed groups – a factor that has fueled military takeovers.

In Guinea, opposition political parties had initially cautiously welcomed the September 2021 coup that deposed long-serving President Alpha Conde.

But relations with interim head of government Colonel Mamady Doumbouya deteriorated after the main opposition parties rejected a 36-month transition to elections approved by the interim parliament last May.

In response, Doumbouya’s government banned all public demonstrations and has since cracked down on the series of street protests that followed, drawing rebuke from human rights groups and the United Nations.

At least 24 people have been killed and dozens arrested since June, including high-profile activists, opposition parties and civil society groups.

Authorities have acknowledged “casualties” but have not given a figure.

“The military junta cannot give us hope and then act even worse than the regime it replaced,” said Souleymane Bah, a resident of Conakry, 34, adding that people wanted the army to organize elections.

Last October, the government shortened its transition period to two years after the Economic Commission for West African States (ECOWAS) rejected its three-year transition plan and imposed sanctions.

“We intend to respect all deadlines,” said Guinea spokesman Ousmane Gaoual Diallo.

This has failed to appease the opposition parties.

“Three feelings dominate Guineans: fatigue, disappointment and disgust at the perjury of Mamadi Doumbouya,” Nadia Nahman, spokesman for Cellou Diallo, leader of the main opposition party, UFDG, told Al Jazeera.

“[Doumbouya] was sworn in as president of the transition and promised to “consolidate the democratic achievements” while committing Guinea to its “national and international obligations”, but he has betrayed all his obligations with the bloody suppression of peaceful demonstrations,” she added up to it.

Diallo fled the country for Senegal last year after authorities accused him of corruption.

Last week, angry mobs gathered around the grieving relatives and friends of those killed in the latest unrest. Many cried and held up pictures of their loved ones on their phones.