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Guinean
President Alpha Condé, pictured in October 2015, has sacked the country's
Interior Minister Mahmoud Cisse, Secretary of State for Religious Affairs El
Hajd Abdoulaye Diassy and his deputy Aboubacar Fofana ©Sajjad Hussain (AFP)
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Guinean President Alpha Condé
sacked his interior minister and two other government officials for "gross
misconduct", for their handling of deadly violence that broke out at a religious
gathering last weekend. Interior Minister Mahmoud Cisse, Secretary of State for
Religious Affairs El Hajd Abdoulaye Diassy and his deputy Aboubacar Fofana were
dismissed, according to orders from Conakry, which gave no further explanation
and did not name any replacements.
A
source in the presidency told AFP that "President Condé blames his now
former colleagues for the catastrophic event management at Touba", a
popular Muslim pilgrimage site where violence broke out last week.
AFP report continues:
Two
people were killed, many wounded and vehicles and buildings torched when rival
groups clashed over the construction of a large mosque in the city, which lies
some 250 kilometres (155 miles) north of Conakry in the Gaoual prefecture.
"Authorities
deployed security forces to maintain order in the region after the
destruction," and an investigation has been opened, Court of Appeals
prosecutor Cherif Moundjour told state media on Wednesday.
"At
this time, 13 people have been arrested" and are being held in Gaoual, he
said.
"They
are being prosecuted for murder, criminal conspiracy, destruction of private
property and intentional injury."
The
violence comes after Condé was reelected for a second five-year term last month
and is due to be sworn in on December 14.
Some
85 percent of Guinea's 12 million people are Muslim, about one in 10 are
Christians and others follow traditional spiritual beliefs.
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