TheCable

Abdourahmane Sanoh, activist and coordinator of the National Front for the Defense of the Constitution (NFDC), has been arrested for opposing a planned constitutional review aimed at extending President Alpha Conde’s stay in power.

Earlier in the month, Sanoh attended the constitutional term limits summit in Niamey, Niger Republic, organised by the National Democratic Institute (NDI).

The NFDC is accusing Conde of initiating the process for amendments to the country’s constitution, which opposition leaders have described as an avenue to seek a third term in office.

A call for protest by Sanoh’s group led to the arrest of leaders of opposition parties and civil society groups. The NFDC has asked for the release of six of its leaders detained by security operatives over the protest.

On Monday, several persons were reported shot and some wounded in violent clashes with the country’s law enforcement officers.

Commercial activities have been paralysed in the country’s capital, and the government has warned against further protests.

“We are appealing to all our brothers and sisters in uniform to stand on the side of the truth defended by the people of Guinea, whose exalted task they are to defend in all circumstances,” the NFDC said in statement.

Conde, 81-year-old, was elected in December 2010 for a five-year term. He was the first elected president in the country’s history, and was reelected in 2015.