Violent clashes between Guinea-Conakry opposition protesters and police forces have left a trainee policeman dead and over 50 people wounded in the capital Conakry, ahead of the country’s parliamentary elections.

A government spokesman said in a statement that Monday violence erupted after the protesters opened fire as police broke through one of barricades set up across the city in an effort to control the protests.

The demonstrators killed one trainee and injured two other officers.

The statement added that the Guinean government “calls on political parties to get their supporters to exercise restraint and urges them to refrain from any form of violence against peaceful citizens.”


Monday violence comes after clashes between pro- and anti-government demonstrators across the capital which left 24 injured over the weekend.

Guinea is one of the poorest countries in the region despite huge potential for mineral exploitation.

A military junta gained control of the country in December 2008 following the death of President Lansana Conte, who had seized power in a coup nearly 25 years earlier. A transitional administration supervised the introduction of civilian rule in Guinea at the end of 2010.