Guinea gold mining clashes in Siguiri leave 10 dead, government says

A ban and a troop deployment

Guinea's government banned what it called uncontrolled and illegal gold mining in the Siguiri prefecture on 2 November, and security forces were sent into the area to enforce the order. Since then, security forces have pushed out tens of thousands of West African workers who had been working in small-scale mines, according to De Morgen. The government presents the crackdown as a response to environmental damage, including harm to farmland, deforestation and polluted waterways. Siguiri is one of the country's important gold deposits, and Guinea is also rich in bauxite.

Clashes in Siguiri

Clashes broke out on Wednesday, 11 November, after miners who remained in the area set up barricades against a joint patrol of soldiers and police, according to the government. The government said the situation then escalated into an exchange of gunfire, and it did not say who fired first. Officials also did not say whether all of the dead were protesters. A witness told AFP that he had seen security forces firing toward demonstrators, while another said he saw bodies after the situation calmed somewhat and that shops had been vandalized. A trader told AFP that pursuits were under way in Kintinian and nearby villages, and AFP could not authenticate social media videos showing bodies and gunshot wounds.

Casualties and the inquiry

The government's provisional toll is 10 dead, among them five foreign nationals whose identities had not yet been established. Thirteen people were injured, including members of the security forces. The government's statement, released on the evening of Thursday, 12 November, said the prosecutor general at the Kankan Court of Appeal and the Siguiri prosecutor had been contacted to clarify the circumstances. Local residents told AFP that one man's father had been wounded but could not get help because security forces occupied the area.

Dead (provisional)10

Foreign nationals among the dead5

Injured13

Dead (provisional)

10 people

Foreign nationals among the dead

5 people

Injured

13 people

Data from the article text

Expulsions and pressure on Mali

Mali's authorities announced on 7 November that they had received about 160,000 people expelled from Guinea since the operation began. They also recorded six deaths and warned of a humanitarian crisis on their side of the border. According to Africanews, hundreds of miners began leaving gathering points in Mali, where buses and trucks had carried them after their expulsion from Guinea. Burkina Faso criticized what it described as allegedly inhuman treatment of its citizens during the expulsions.

Detentions and trials

Guinean authorities have detained more than 1,200 people in the crackdown, according to Africanews as cited by ČT24. Court proceedings against accused miners detained in Siguiri began in Conakry on Wednesday, 11 November. Those on trial include Guineans as well as nationals of Burkina Faso, Mali, Togo, Niger, Ivory Coast and Ghana. Defence lawyers dispute the authorities' approach to the detentions. The inquiry into the clashes was announced in the same government statement that gave the provisional toll.