Guinée: des affrontements entre forces de l’ordre et orpailleurs font au moins 10 morts dans une localité du nord-est
The fight against artisanal gold mining has escalated in the Siguiri region of northeastern Guinea. A demonstration broke out Wednesday afternoon, November 11, in the town of Bouré-Balato. The demonstration turned into a clash between gold miners and local residents who confronted the security forces. The government reports 10 deaths in the clashes.
Bouré-Balato, a major mining site located about twenty kilometers from the town of Siguiri, returned to a semblance of calm on Thursday. According to several witnesses on the ground, a large number of defense and security forces remained deployed throughout the day. Shops, however, remained closed. The town emptied of some of its men, who took refuge in surrounding villages.
The previous day, the clashes were particularly violent. Stone throwing and the burning of a military vehicle on one side, tear gas and live ammunition on the other, the situation quickly degenerated on Wednesday afternoon.
Barricades and a burned-out vehicle
Both sides blame each other for the origin of these incidents. On one side, a security source indicates that a patrol in the area surprised gold miners in action and attempted to arrest them. They reportedly resisted, which led to a revolt by the local residents.
The protesters, for their part, claim that the patrol burned machines, the tools of the artisanal gold miners, which allegedly caused the incident.
Then the situation deteriorated significantly. During the clashes, a military vehicle was reportedly set on fire, others were pelted with stones, and the protesters also erected barricades. In response, additional security forces arrived as reinforcements. Then, heavy gunfire erupted, according to numerous witnesses.
Several sources on the ground and other independent sources report numerous deaths and injuries among the protesters. Shops were also vandalized. Minister of Territorial Administration Djenabou Touré released a provisional death toll of 10 on Thursday evening. The matter is now before the courts.
"What economic alternative is available to this population?"
Aboul Sacko, coordinator of the Forum of Social Forces of Guinea, regrets the method of maintaining order: "It is with indignation coupled with profound sadness that we learn, according to information received from the field, that the continuation of the so-called operations to ban illegal gold mining has resulted in loss of life, serious injuries, and other forms of violations and degradation of life and human dignity."
Abdoul Sacko, however, is not surprised by the revolt of the local residents. While he welcomes the government's commitment to regulating mining activities and protecting the environment, he believes the ban on gold panning was not adequately prepared: "What economic alternative is being offered to this population? For them, this activity is not only economic, but also cultural. It's linked to their traditions. So, first, we need to know what alternative measures, both economic and social, the government is offering."
Artisanal gold mining provided a livelihood for hundreds of thousands of people in the Siguiri region. These included foreigners, who have left the country in recent days, but also many Guineans.
Commentaires (9)
Tu sais que notre premier Président Sékou Touré sa premier divorce était le fait d'un sénégalais (un certain Modou Sow) qui lui avait détourné sa femme?
Et pourtant, quoi qu'il ne s'entendait pas avec Senghor, il n'a jamais indexé une communauté sénégalaise quelconque.
Certainement c'est un signe de fin du pouvoir despotique et mégalomanique de Doumbouya.
Meme Sékou le tyran le plus inpitoyable de l'histoir de l'humatité (et qui a fait des petits au Sénégal parmi les MFDCistes-AESistes) n'a pas osé toucher ce probleme.
Il vient d'inaugurer une raffinerie d'or pour soit disant créer de la valeur ajoutée.
Je parie qu'il réculera car ce sont ses parents qui sont quasi exlcusivement des orpailleurs en Guinée, hormis les étrangers de la sous-région.
La Guinée est comme le Gabon, la nature leur a donné tout mais des populations paresseuses.
Ce sont des bourkinabés et des ressortissants de la casamance qui travaillent, en majorité, dans les mines et les terres agricoles guinéennes.
Les éleveurs de bétaille du sahel envahissent la Guinée avec des races de rhuminants qui font fuire les animaux de la race N'dama guinéenne, et qui font des ravages sur les champs et le couvert végétal sauvage.
La Guinée aussi subit énormément et Dakar est loin de représenter le centre du monde.
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