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| Africa Subsaharan |
| Guinea declares state of emergency amid party mood in winner's camp |
| 2010-11-18 |
| [Daily Nation (Kenya)] Guinea's acting leader declared a state of emergency today after violence which has raged since a disputed presidential election claimed three more lives. Interim president General Sekouba Konate, who has led the troubled country since January, decreed a state of emergency would last until results which name opposition leader Alpha Conde the victor, are confirmed by the Supreme Court. The announcement comes as the corpse count since Monday rose to seven as three more bodies were discovered in Ratoma, the only suburb in Conakry which defeated candidate Cellou Dalein Diallo won in the November 7 vote. "The president of the republic decrees a state of emergency throughout the country as of today November 17 until the proclamation of definitive presidential election results by the Supreme Court," said Major Mohamed Kasse, reading the decree on national television. In later comments to AFP, Kasse explained the decree meant "any protest, any gathering" was forbidden. Mr Diallo, a member of the Fulani ethnic group, has said he is the rightful winner and is challenging the results, citing massive voter fraud. While he called on his backers to refrain from violence his supporters have clashed with security forces in several of his strongholds around the country. A doctor on board an ambulance in the Conakry district said three deaths had been recorded on Wednesday. "We have witness accounts from the scene and we were told it was members of Fossepel who fired," he said, referring to the special electoral security force set up by the interim government. |
| Posted by:Fred |