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Discontent soldiers revolt in Guinea demanding raise

Soldiers demanding a raise took to the streets of Guinea's provincial towns on Friday in the second day of a military-led revolt, taking their complaint beyond the boulevards of the capital in clashes that have left at least two dead.

Troops armed with machine guns blocked the main arteries leading into the town of Kindia, 135km east of Conakry. Shots rang out in Mamou, 280km east of the capital, while in Macenta, 800km to the south, soldiers blocked cars and held the town hostage.

In a radio address, Guinea's information minister Justin Morel Junior asked the renegade soldiers to "stay calm and return to their barracks." Junior also said that President Lansana Conte had agreed to meet the soldiers today to hear their grievances.

At least two people were killed when angry soldiers began shooting in the town of Kindia, said Abou Cheri Camara, the governor of the region who was reached by telephone. Residents in the town said they were afraid to go out.

"Since last night, the soldiers have been shooting. Some of them are using this as an opportunity to vandalize shops and break into the homes of wealthy people," said Mabinty Camara, a trader from Kindia's main market contacted by telephone.

Mody Sory Barry, a teacher who had barricaded himself inside his Kindia home said: "The town is under siege. The soldiers are angry, on edge. They're shooting and breaking into shops ... We are afraid."

"Here, nobody is getting around. Not on foot. Not by car. Everybody is locked inside and the soldiers are firing," said taxi driver Mamadou Bah.

The revolt began on Thursday at the Alpha Yaya Diallo military base in Conakry when junior officers learned that only soldiers with at least 14 years of service would receive a raise.

The younger troops stormed the neighborhoods surrounding the camp, shooting into the air and ransacking the house of a high-ranking colonel.
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