Guinea troops kill scores of demonstrators
Doctors say at least 58 people have been killed in the West African nation of Guinea after about 50 000 people demonstrated in the capital Conakry against military leader Captain Moussa Dadis Camara. News reports say the killings came after Camara, who came to power in a coup last year, appeared to reverse a pledge not to run for president in elections in January. Guineans fear the new ruler is displaying “Big Man” tendencies that characterised life under former 25-year ruler President Lansana Conte. The military promised to engage in democracy and fix rampant economic mismanagement after Conte died in December, but few of the 10-million Guineans benefit from the country’s status as the world’s largest exporter of bauxite, used in aluminium production, because of rampant corruption.
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