Clashes in West African nation of Guinea leave 10 dead, 115 wounded

Security forces clashed Monday with protesters seeking the ouster of Guinea's embattled president, and at least 10 civilians were killed and 115 were wounded, hospital officials said.

Most of the casualties appeared to have been caused by security forces who opened fire on demonstrators, said Dr. Ousmane Bah, who treated patients in an emergency room.

Thousands have taken to the streets of the capital, Conakry, hurling rocks at paramilitary police or army troops in the second week of a general strike aimed at toppling President Lansana Conte, who seized power in a 1984 coup and has refused to step down despite reports of ill health.

Ten bullet-riddled bodies were brought to the hospital in the neighborhood of Donka, said Bah, who inspected the corpses.

"Maybe there are more, I don't know. We're overwhelmed," he said.

Guinean Red Cross country director Georges Cunz said up to 12 people may have been killed, but the tally was not final.

As clashes spread across Conakry, the sound of automatic weapons fire echoed through the crumbling seaside city.

Witnesses had said earlier that security forces fired rounds over the heads of demonstrators marching toward the presidential palace.

"They're shooting in the air to frighten the demonstrators, but the people are continuing to march," said hairdresser Laila Hattie, who witnessed the early hours of the demonstrations.

The protesters did not reach the palace.

The strike has paralyzed this tiny, impoverished West African nation of 10 million people that is home to nearly half the world's reserves of bauxite, a material used to produce aluminum.

Union leaders have vowed the strike will continue until Conte steps down.

Conte, who seized power in a 1984 coup and is in his 70s, has refused to leave office despite reports of ill health and frequent trips abroad for medical treatment.

On Saturday, Conte addressed the country for the first time since the beginning of the strike and called on the army and his countrymen to support him, saying: "It is God who gives power."

The call marked his first public address since the strike began Jan. 10. With schools and businesses closed and Conakry's main seaport shut, the growing strike represents one of the gravest threats yet to Conte's rule.

With little history of democracy and no clear successor, many worry that mounting discontent could plunge the tiny nation into civil war if Conte dies or is toppled.

Public support for Conte's regime has faltered amid a declining economy that has seen the Guinea franc depreciate and prices for basic goods rise markedly.