CONAKRY—Guinea's prime minister agreed on Tuesday to meet the demands of mutinous soldiers, hoping to end a two-day revolt in the world's top bauxite exporter in which dozens of people have been injured.
Ahmed Tidiane Souare, appointed by President Lansana Conte only last week in the face of bitter protests by unions and opposition parties, read out a statement on state television saying he would meet the soldiers' demands.
These included paying wage arrears of 5 million Guinean francs ($1,140) to each soldier, lowering the cost of the troops' subsidised rice and sacking the defence minister and the quartermaster general.
Souare also promised that no mutineers would be punished, and said he had freed all soldiers detained in connection with a paralysing general strike against Conte's rule in early 2007 in which more than 130 people were killed, mostly unarmed civilians shot dead by security forces.
"I appeal to all our compatriots, and particularly our armed forces, (to help) consolidate the foundations of our state and our democratic achievements," Souare said.
Sporadic shooting rang out in Conakry on Tuesday evening, but the city appeared calmer than on Monday night.
The two-day revolt was a baptism of fire for Souare, with protesting soldiers in the capital Conakry and several other towns firing volleys into the air to press their pay claims.
Hospital officials said at least one person was killed and around 20 were injured in Conakry, mostly by stray bullets.
Similar protests also occurred on Monday at garrisons in the southeastern town of N'Zerekore, where around 30 people were hurt, and the mining town of Kindia, witnesses said. Guinea has a third of the world's reserves of the aluminium ore bauxite.
Minister's House Ransacked
Earlier on Tuesday, mutinous troops looted the house of General Mamadou Bailo Diallo, the defence minister, on the outskirts of the capital Conakry. State radio said later that Diallo had been dismissed but did not say who was replacing him.
Those injured in the capital included the quartermaster general, Major Mamadou Korka Diallo, whose car was fired on and who was briefly held by the protesters.
Conakry airport, located near the Alpha Yaya Diallo camp where the mutiny is centred, was closed and many shops and businesses were shut on Tuesday. Traffic on the streets of the sprawling capital was light as many residents stayed at home.
Witnesses said the mutineers had also looted some petrol stations in the capital, forcing them to close.
The military revolt over pay has heightened fears of wider unrest in the country following President Lansana Conte's surprise sacking of a consensus prime minister a week ago, which has infuriated opposition unions and political parties.
"There is a history of these types of pay mutinies going back to 1996 ... it is conceivable it could turn into something more serious," Dustin Sharp, a researcher on French-speaking West Africa for Human Rights Watch, told Reuters earlier.
Guinea's fractious military have been a pillar of support for Conte since he seized power in a 1984 coup. But they have staged several protests and mutinies over pay.
Sharp said deteriorating economic conditions, characterised by soaring food and fuel prices in many West African countries, could also be worsening the discontent in the Guinean military.
"I think soldiers are feeling the economic pinch ... All groups in Guinea, teachers, doctors and others, are suffering from the economic conditions. The only thing that makes the soldiers different and more dangerous is that they have AKs (automatic rifles) in their hands," he said.
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