ECOWAS ministers open talks on Guinea crisisForeign ministers from a West African West AfricaA region of western Africa between the Sahara Desert and the Gulf of Guinea. It was largely controlled by colonial powers until the 20th century. West African adj. & n. bloc started meeting on Monday in Nigeria to examine the situation in Guinea, where a recent military crackdown on an opposition protest claimed at least 150 lives. The special meeting, organised by the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS ECOWAS Economic Community Of West African States ), is also being attended by the Guinea opposition. Ousted prime minister Ahmed Tidiane Souare is leading an opposition delegation, including witnesses to the massacre -- some with injuries plastered with bandages. The United Nations says that at least 150 people were killed on September 28 when government troops opened fire on a demonstration at a Conakry stadium calling for junta leader Captain Moussa Dadis Camara not to stand for election. "The wound on my head is a mark from them (military junta Noun 1. military junta - a group of military officers who rule a country after seizing power junta clique, coterie, ingroup, inner circle, camp, pack - an exclusive circle of people with a common purpose )," Monday's local papers quoted Souare telling reporters on arrival in Nigeria at the weekend. The opposition claims more than 200 were killed in the September 28 bloodbath blood·bath also blood bath n. Savage, indiscriminate killing; a massacre. Noun 1. bloodbath - indiscriminate slaughter; "a bloodbath took place when the leaders of the plot surrendered"; "ten days after the in the capital of the world's top bauxite bauxite (bôk`sīt, bŏk`–), mixture of hydrated aluminum oxides usually containing oxides of iron and silicon in varying quantities. producer. "They beat us directly and they killed some. More than 200 were killed by the junta," added Souare who led the group of more than 20 political, civil and labour leaders. Previously, the opposition had put the death toll at 157. ECOWAS commission head Mohamed Ibn Chambas Dr. Mohamed Ibn Chambas (born 7 December 1950 in Ghana) is a lawyer, diplomat, politician and academic from Ghana. He is the current Executive Secreteary of ECOWAS. Education He attended Mfantsipim School, Cape Coast and Government Secondary School, Tamale. last week met Burkina Faso President Blaise Compaore, whom the regional body has appointed to mediate on the Guinea crisis in the wake of the massacre. Amid mounting international pressure on Camara, rights groups have also reported many cases of rape and other abuses at the stadium, where more than 1,200 people were injured. 
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