SOS projects safe as hundreds killed in Guinea protest

At least 157 people were killed, 1,200 wounded and hundreds raped in a brutal crackdown by government soldiers on a huge pro-democracy protest in Guinea. The soldiers fired into the air as they roamed Conakry, the West African country’s capital yesterday.

Tens of thousands of had gathered at the football stadium to protest against reports that the head of the junta, Captain Moussa Dadis Camara, had gone back on a deal to stand down in favour of free elections. Soldiers sent in to police the rally used live ammunition and tear gas. Witnesses told Reuters news agency that troops started to bayonet protestors trying to escape, while others stripped and raped women in the crowd.

Guinea's military leader, Moussa "Dadis" Camara, who rose to power in a December coup, said the stunning violence was beyond his control. "Those people who committed those atrocities were uncontrollable elements in the military," he told Radio France International yesterday. "Even I, as head of state in this very tense situation, cannot claim to be able to control those elements in the military." Captain Camara came to power in a coup hours after long-time dictator Lansana Conte died. He first said he would not run in the January election, but recently said he has the right to run, raising tensions.

Key opposition figures were rounded up at the stadium and taken from their homes, though some were released after pressure from the European and African Unions. Corinne Dufka, senior West Africa researcher at Human Rights Watch, said the killing of dozens of unarmed protesters is "shocking even by the abusive standards of Guinea's coup government". The African Union, the European Union and the government of neighbouring Senegal all quickly denounced the violence. The AU suspended Guinea's membership after the December coup. France, Guinea’s former ruler, said that it was suspending military ties after the “savage and bloody” crackdown.

SOS Children's Villages in Guinea confirmed yesterday that the situation remains so far calm. All three locations where SOS Children's Villages Guinea is present (Conakry, Kankan and N'Zérékoré) have taken safety measures to ensure that they have enough food and petrol (to run their generators, for electricity and water). Ms Oumou Diané, the deputy National Director, said everything was closed in Conakry yesterday morning (banks, schools - including SOS schools) and people remained in their homes. SOS mothers and children remain in the Villages.

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