Soldiers angry at the firing of Guinea's prime minister began rioting and shooting in the air Monday, witnesses living near the capital's military barracks said.
Soldiers have demanded higher pay for years. Lansana Kouyate, who was appointed prime minister in a power sharing deal last year, had promised to address their concerns.
"The soldiers are saying that they no longer have an intermediary now that Kouyate is gone," said witness Sekou Toure, who lives near the military barracks.
Kouyate was fired by a presidential decree read on TV last week, a move that was criticized by Guinea's powerful unions. It was the unions that led the deadly demonstrations last year that forced President Lansana Conte, the country's ill dictator, to agree to appoint a prime minister from a list of five candidates proposed by the unions. The deal was intended to wrest power away from the elderly president, who has led his country into economic ruin.
The international community praised Kouyate for attempting to address the corruption that has eaten through most of the state's institutions since Conte grabbed power in a 1984 coup. But Kouyate quickly butted heads with the president who, under the power sharing deal, was not allowed to appoint or fire Cabinet members.
Earlier this year, Conte violated the agreement by firing the country's information minister. The second violation was last week's dismissal of Kouyate himself.
A soldier at the barracks contacted by phone, who asked that he not be named for fear of retaliation from his superiors, confirmed the rioting.
He said the troops are up in arms over their salaries. Kouyate had promised that the soldiers would receive back pay for salary increases that were promised long ago, but never materialized under Conte's administration.
Marietou Ndiaye, whose home is within walking distance of the barracks, said in a telephone interview that she recognized one of the rioting soldiers.
When she asked him what was going on, she says he answered: "'We are rioting for our salaries.' Kouyate, before leaving, had told the soldiers that each of them would get at least 5 million Guinean francs in back pay (around US$1,100). There are rumors in the barracks that the back pay has been reduced to 1 million (around US$225)."
During last year's union-led demonstrations, many said Conte was able to cling onto the presidency only by paying off key members of the military. Even after calm returned, younger soldiers at the military barracks led a three-day revolt, calling for higher wages and for the resignation of the country's unpopular defense minister.
Like now, the revolt began with shots fired in the air. Guinea experts have long theorized that Conte needs to keep the military on his side in order to hold on to power. Last year's riots were resolved only after Conte agreed to their salary demands and removed the top defense official, a capitulation that showed how weak the embattled dictator had become.
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