Featured: serial violence in Guinea and Mali

Audio 4:13

Preventive graffiti for wearing a mask on the Fidel Castro highway in Conakry. RFI / Carol Valade

By: Frédéric Couteau Follow

Publicity

In Guinea, first of all, "  7 people were killed yesterday in Conakry and in the north-west of the country during clashes with the police linked to roadblocks against the coronavirus and to power cuts , reports the MediaGuinée site . "There have been five deaths in Coyah and one in Dubréka", two prefectures near Conakry where demonstrators "protested the erection of dams" to isolate the capital because of the coronavirus, said the spokesman for the police. In Coyah, the demonstrators ransacked the police station and the gendarmerie. "

Black Tuesday in Coyah !  " Exclaims AfricaGuinée , another Guinean site. Blood has flowed in quantity and many lives were torn away on Tuesday in the city of Coyah, located at the entrance to Conakry. 5 people were killed and 19 injured in these anti-containment demonstrations. The images of the bloody violence that tore apart the prefecture of Coyah testify to the unprecedented scale of the clashes. At the finish, the authorities complied with the demands of the demonstrators. It was indeed decided to relocate the Friguiadi dam to replace it in Kouria, its initial position.  "

For its part, the opposition gives voice: "  For Cellou Dalein Diallo , points Ledjely , yesterday's killings, like the previous ones, are attributable in the first place to the Head of State. The opponent believes that the spiral will not stop until Alpha Condé has left power. Otherwise, "nothing is holding it back," asserts Cellou Dalein Diallo.  "

Another reaction of indignation, that of Sidya Touré, the leader of the UFR, collected by GuinéeNews  : “  I am shocked by the ease with which young people were killed today ; 7 people in totally different Coyah-Dubréka and Kamsar theaters. Guinea lives very badly during this period of coronavirus. State violence is absolutely unacceptable.  "

Anger and scuffles in Kayes

Other violence, this time in Kayes in Mali. Violent scuffles in Kayes after the homicide by a police officer of an 18-year-old boy : at least 3 dead and several wounded, some of them seriously,  " exclaims L'Indépendant on the first page.

"  The announcement of this violent death added to the anger of the population of Kayes, already turned against the police following the harassment, abuse and other blunders that they had to undergo during the curfew period linked to covid-19 . A bar, a police station and security posts were set on fire. The murderous police officer was arrested. The Malian government, under the leadership of Prime Minister Boubou Cisse, decided to go there, as well as the deputies of the region, in order to contribute to the return to calm.

The puzzle facing the Covid ...

As we can see, this violence comes in particular from the anger and frustration of the populations after the containment measures and the traffic restrictions taken to fight against the coronavirus.

In fact, the rulers on the continent are faced with a real headache: taking restrictive measures at the risk of attracting the wrath of the populations or then reducing the measures at the risk of being accused of laxity, even unconsciousness. ..

This is the case in Senegal, where critics burst out after the lifting of restrictions decided by President Macky Sall. Thus, for WalfQuotidien , "  Macky Sall took his " easing measures " of the state of emergency without taking into account in the least the world in the opinion of the opposition, civil society, religious leaders, etc. . He put all these beautiful people before the fait accompli. The President of the Republic did not consider it necessary to have the support of the entire political class to abdicate before the strong pressure of religious lobbies and the economic sector, the informal sector which suffered from the effects of the state of emergency .  "

And in the columns of WalfQuotidien , reactions are linked: "  Macky Sall has chosen to resign the state  ", denounces former Prime Minister Abdoul Mbaye.

The President has left the people in the face of the coronavirus,  " said MP Mamadou Lamine Diallo.

Or, Thierno Alassane, the leader of the Republic of Values ​​who accuses the President of making the state "  helpless  ".

Finally, the daily 24 Heures , still in Dakar, also expresses doubts about Macky Sall's new strategy with this question that crosses the front page of the newspaper: "  Will he really get us out of this?  "

Newsletter Receive all international news directly in your mailbox

I subscribe

Follow all international news by downloading the RFI application

google-play-badge_FR

  • Newspaper
  • Guinea
  • Mali
  • Society
  • Coronavirus