One Shot Dead In Guinea Protest, Opposition Group Says

One person was shot dead, several were wounded and more than 100 were arrested during anti-government protests in Guinea's capital on Thursday, an opposition coalition said.

The protest was spurred by concerns that Guinea's ruling junta, which took power in a coup last September, is not moving quickly enough to restore civilian rule.

"The FNDC deplores the death, this afternoon in Hamdallaye, of a citizen hit by a bullet, several injured by live ammunition and numerous arrests," the National Front for the Defence of the Constitution (FNDC) said in a statement late on Thursday.

Police did not confirm the death. A senior police official who declined to be named said that 88 people were injured, included 12 police.

"One of our colleagues narrowly escaped (a lynching)," he said.

One of the FNDC's leaders, Ibrahima Diallo, told journalists on Friday that 102 people had been arrested and 23 of them sent to a military camp overnight.

It was the second major protest against the junta in recent months. One person was killed in a protest over fuel price hikes in June, and Guinea charged a police officer with his murder. read more

Coup leader and interim President Mamady Doumbouya has proposed a 36-month transition to elections, which regional leaders and opposition politicians have rejected.

Following criticism of the 36-month timeline, the junta banned all public demonstrations several months ago.

Guinea's attorney general ordered a judicial investigation into those responsible for Thursday's march.

The protest was called by the FNDC, a coalition of politicians and activists that also opposed former President Alpha Conde's efforts to hold onto power.

Conde was overthrown last year after changing the constitution to allow himself to run for a third term in 2020.