Guinea's embattled President Lansana Conte slapped martial law on the west African country on Monday in a bid to end deadly protests against his rule.
Conte, 72, himself a former general who seized power in a coup 23 years ago, ordered the military to act to avoid the country sliding into an all-out "civil war" and imposed a curfew effective 20 hours a day for the next 11 days.
The ailing leader who rarely appears in public, announced in a televised address that the "destruction and loss of human lives" in Guinea over the past month of strikes and demonstrations in which over 100 people have been killed had forced him to impose martial law.
"I am therefore ordering the army chiefs of staff to take all necessary measures to reestablish public order and protect the people of Guinea against the risk of a civil war," he said.
The country of 9.4 million people will be under curfew, prohibiting the "movement of people, vehicles or goods ... across the entire national territory" from 6am to 4pm and 8pm to 6am.
"Processions, marches and demonstrations are prohibited" so are "public or private meetings likely to cause or maintain disorder," said Conte, declaring what he described as a "state of siege" in the country.
Conte gave the army sweeping authority to enforce all the laws including control of the media.
He spoke after a day of deadly unrest during a renewed general strike aiming to force him to step down. The strike had earlier been called off when Conte finally agreed to name a prime minister with increased powers, but his choice of long-time ally Eugene Camara sparked new unrest.
Skirmishes between demonstrators and security forces broke out in several neighborhoods of the capital and in the interior of the country, leaving at least 18 people dead, taking to 104 the total toll since the unrest erupted last month.
Violence spread to a military headquarters on Monday with heavy gunfire reverberating across the Alpha Yaya military camp near Conakry's international airport, apparently in protest at the arrival in the capital of fighters from nearby Liberia and recent promotions of some army officers, military sources said.
‘IN A DIFFERENT PLACE’: The envoy first visited Shanghai, where he attended a Chinese basketball playoff match, and is to meet top officials in Beijing tomorrow US Secretary of State Antony Blinken yesterday arrived in China on his second visit in a year as the US ramps up pressure on its rival over its support for Russia while also seeking to manage tensions with Beijing. The US diplomat tomorrow is to meet China’s top brass in Beijing, where he is also expected to plead for restraint as Taiwan inaugurates president-elect William Lai (賴清德), and to raise US concerns on Chinese trade practices. However, Blinken is also seeking to stabilize ties, with tensions between the world’s two largest economies easing since his previous visit in June last year. At the
Nearly half of China’s major cities are suffering “moderate to severe” levels of subsidence, putting millions of people at risk of flooding, especially as sea levels rise, according to a study of nationwide satellite data released yesterday. The authors of the paper, published by the journal Science, found that 45 percent of China’s urban land was sinking faster than 3mm per year, with 16 percent at more than 10mm per year, driven not only by declining water tables, but also the sheer weight of the built environment. With China’s urban population already in excess of 900 million people, “even a small portion
UNSETTLING IMAGES: The scene took place in front of TV crews covering the Trump trial, with a CNN anchor calling it an ‘emotional and unbelievably disturbing moment’ A man who doused himself in an accelerant and set himself on fire outside the courthouse where former US president Donald Trump is on trial has died, police said yesterday. The New York City Police Department (NYPD) said the man was declared dead by staff at an area hospital. The man was in Collect Pond Park at about 1:30pm on Friday when he took out pamphlets espousing conspiracy theories, tossed them around, then doused himself in an accelerant and set himself on fire, officials and witnesses said. A large number of police officers were nearby when it happened. Some officers and bystanders rushed
Beijing is continuing to commit genocide and crimes against humanity against Uyghurs and other Muslim minorities in its western Xinjiang province, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a report published on Monday, ahead of his planned visit to China this week. The State Department’s annual human rights report, which documents abuses recorded all over the world during the previous calendar year, repeated language from previous years on the treatment of Muslims in Xinjiang, but the publication raises the issue ahead of delicate talks, including on the war in Ukraine and global trade, between the top U.S. diplomat and Chinese