Lawyer says Guinea becoming new killing field
An international human rights lawyer living in Guinea says the army is killing democracy. This comes after troops fired on some 50,000 demonstrators in Conakry, killing about 200, while raping and terrorising many more using machetes, knives and iron bars. The violence was blamed on the country’s military president, who came to power in a December coup. He wanted to run in presidential elections scheduled for early next year, which prompted people to pour into the streets. But now there is talk the violence may have more to do with the culture of anarchy among the country's military over the past 25 years under former dictator Lansana Conte, who died last year. Guinea’s troubles risk sparking instability among fragile neighbours Sierra Leone, Liberia and the Ivory Coast, which suffered recent and brutal civil wars.
