Teen killed as Guinea police fire tear gas on banned demo

A teenager was killed Tuesday as Guinean police clashed with youths in the capital Conakry and the opposition leader claimed his car was shot at during a banned rally over disputed elections.

Mamadou Samba Diallo, an 18-year-old apprentice plumber, died after being shot by security forces, his uncle Cellou Binani Diallo, a news photographer who works for several organisations including AFP, said.

"My nephew was shot by soldiers in the Cosa suburb. The moment they shot him, he fell and they surrounded him and kicked him," he said.

"When they were sure he was dead, they got on their pick-up truck and continued on their way," Diallo said.

Opposition leader Cellou Dalein Diallo denounced "yet another death from the bullets of the security forces," adding that 97 demonstrators had been killed since 2010 when President Alpha Conde came to power.

"They wanted to assassinate me. The bullet passed between my driver and myself. My driver was wounded," Diallo said, alleging his vehicle was hit by a police bullet as he was on his way to the protest.

After demonstrators tried to block traffic in Cosa, they lobbed stones in clashes with police who responded with tear gas, an AFP reporter said.

Tensions have been high in the poor West African country since the death on October 16 of a protester during a two-day campaign aimed at bringing Conakry to a standstill.

Opposition leader Diallo, a former prime minister and key opponent of President Conde, accused the gendarmerie of targeting his vehicle.

AFP could not immediately confirm police had fired live rounds. The police meanwhile rejected the allegation.

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