Guinea: several hundred West African nationals arrested

Guinea: several hundred West African nationals arrested
Hundreds of West African nationals have been arrested in recent days by Guinea, who denounces the « infiltration of foreign bodies » as the country goes through a political crisis, but this case could be related to controversial practices of a direct selling company.

On Tuesday and Wednesday, the police arrested 141 people who were « confined in concessions » in the outskirts of Conakry: 84 Bissau-Guineans, 46 Senegalese, nine Guineans, a Burkinabé and a Gambian, said the government.

Other operations took place in several parts of the country, bringing the number of people arrested to around 300.

« This operation sufficiently proves the recurrence of infiltration of foreign bodies both in Conakry and in major cities in the interior of the country, » said the government, while Guinea knows a wave of protests against a draft third warrant awarded to President Alpha Condé, who killed a dozen people.

The action of the police and gendarmerie aims to « rid Guinea of ​​bad seeds that have nothing to do here at this time of unrest, » said Sunday a senior police official who requested anonymity.

However, a head of the presidency, Lieutenant-Colonel Fodé Bakary Cissé, gave a different version, mixing security issues with the fight against practices deemed doubtful by a multinational established direct sales in Africa, Qnet.

The company, headquartered in Hong-Kong, would have attracted young people from several countries to Guinea and sold them various products, for them to resell to their entourage