Conakry - The African Mirror

Feb

2024

Strike paralyses Guinea’s capital, vital mining sector

WORKERS started a national strike in Guinea, shutting businesses and disrupting operations across the mining sector as they demanded higher wages, the lifting of web restrictions and the release of a detained trade union leader. Streets were largely empty, banks closed and normally bustling markets deserted in the West African country's capital Conakry. Security forces were deployed at major road junctions. There was no immediate comment from the government which was set up by a military junta that seized power in a 2021 coup. It has quashed recurring anti-government protests, sometimes violently, in the last few years. A senior official of…

Dec

2023

By The African Mirror

Toll from blast and fire at Guinea oil depot rises to 23 dead – statement

NEWS

THE death toll from a blast and fire at an oil terminal in Guinea's capital, Conakry, has increased to 23 from 13 earlier, and the number of injured has risen to 241 from 178, the government said in a statement. The statement said that 10 remains were still to be identified, adding that the government had received reports of several people still missing. The blast at the West African nation's main oil terminal that handles its fuel imports sparked fears of shortages. The government said in the statement that gasoline distribution was ongoing across the country.

Dec

2023

By SALIOU SAMB

Fuel shortages grip Conakry after deadly oil storage blast

NEWS

GUINEANS should brace for power cuts, the government has warned, as the country grapples with the aftermath of a deadly explosion at an oil terminal in the capital Conakry that destroyed fuel tanks and forced hundreds to flee damaged homes. Fourteen people were killed and 190 injured in the blast at the West African nation's main oil terminal, which rocked the Kaloum district in downtown Conakry in the early hours of Monday. The government said 13 fuel storage tanks were out of service while five tanks were unaffected. "The government informs the population that due to the destroyed fuel stocks,…

Feb

2023

By The African Mirror

Guinea protests leave at least two killed, many wounded, opposition says

NEWS

SAMB SALIOU AT least two people were shot dead and scores wounded or detained at an anti-government protest in Guinea's capital Conakry that started late on Wednesday and continued into Thursday, an opposition coalition said. This time demonstrators erected roadblocks in several locations in Conakry and threw stones at security vehicles, Chief of Police Abdoulaye Sampil said in a statement that made no mention of civilian casualties. He said seven members of the security forces were wounded. A senior police official later said one protester was wounded. But the National Front for the Defence of the Constitution (FNDC), a coalition…

Sep

2021

By The African Mirror

Bauxite trains operated by Russia’s Rusal collide in Guinea, killing one

NEWS

SALIOU SAMB and POLINA DEVITT TWO trains operated by Russian aluminium giant Rusal have collided in Guinea's capital Conakry, killing at least one person and injuring several others, according to witness accounts and footage on social media. The world's third-largest aluminium producer operates three bauxite mines and an alumina refinery in the coastal West African nation. The Guinea mines make up 42% of Rusal's total bauxite capacity. Rusal said an investigation had been launched into the cause of the incident and that company representatives were providing support to the relevant authorities in Guinea. A timetable for the resumption of transportation…