Thousands of women march in Guinea over police violence

(Conakry | News 24 | ) – Thousands of women, clad in white, marched in the Guinean capital of Conakry on Wednesday in protest at a violent crackdown on political demonstrations following elections last month.

Around 5 000 women, dressed in the local colour of mourning, took part in the three-kilometre march, according to an AFP estimate. The organisers put the turnout at 10 000

They carried banners reading, “Too many deaths – the state is still asleep” and “Alpha rhymes with crime,” a reference to the president of the West African state, Alpha Conde.

Around a dozen people have died in political unrest since early February, some of whom were shot dead by police.

Protests erupted after elections on February 4, the country’s first at local level since 2005. According to official results contested by the UFDG opposition, the ballot was won by Conde’s party, the Rally for the Guinean People