from MAMADU ONDO in Conakry, Guinea
Guinea Bureau
CONAKRY, (CAJ News) – DEFENCE and security forces have reportedly killed at least 113 people and injured hundreds others during demonstrations in Guinea since 2019.
This is according to Amnesty International in a new report documenting a sustained crackdown.
The report highlights ongoing obstacles to healthcare and justice faced by victims of unlawful use of force by defence and security forces in the context of demonstrations against the amendment of the Constitution under President Alpha Conde, and since the Comité National du Rassemblement pour le Développement (CRND) came to power in September 2021.
“Despite the promises of the CRND to address excessive use of force under Alpha Conde including cases of killings, this extremely serious situation persists, in a general context of repression of dissenting voices,” said Samira Daoud, Amnesty International’s Regional Director for West and Central Africa.
Of the 47 people killed during protests under the CNRD as of late April 2024, according to an Amnesty International count, more than 75 percent were under the age of 25, and 40 percent were under the age of 18.
The report found that victims of serious injuries received delayed medical treatment, after the latter prevented or delayed medical evacuation.
There is concern that since 2019, there have been few convictions of members of the defence and security forces for unlawful use of force.
Several legal proceedings have been announced or actually initiated by the CNRD but little public information is available on their development, and they mainly concern cases of killings.
Assemblies have been banned in Guinea.
Defence and security forces have continued to be deployed.
– CAJ News