Policeman killed in Guinea election, education protests

Thousands of young people have been demonstrating in the Guinean capital, Conakry, over the failure to announce results to the February 4 election, while a teachers’ strike has also entered its second week.

“A policeman died in the disorder around Koloma (a Conakry suburb). A projectile hit him in the head,” police spokesman Mamadou Alpha Barry said.

“The victim was trying to maintain order in the area, where protests broke out early this morning,” Barry added.

The rallies related to “election results, according to some, and a call for classes to resume, according to others,” he said.

Two men died last Monday in clashes between demonstrators and riot police in Guinea.

The unrest in the West African country follows the opposition accusing the authorities of “massive fraud” in the election.

Last week the election commission said President Alpha Conde’s party was neck and neck with the opposition party led by former prime minister Cellou Dalein Diallo.

The vote was the first of its kind since a military dictatorship ended a decade ago and followed eight years of delays blamed on a lack of funds, political infighting and the 2013-16 Ebola crisis.

Teachers also resumed strike action on February 12 after some union members called for a renewed walkout over pay and working conditions.

It follows a month-long strike by teachers last year.

On Sunday, the government threatened to not pay striking teachers at the end of the month as it deemed the walkout “illegal”.