Guinea mutineers, military to discuss final deal
(Adds ECOWAS statement, background, paragraphs 8-10)
By Saliou Samb
CONAKRY, May 31 (Reuters) - The leaders of an army mutiny in Guinea will meet military authorities on Sunday to negotiate an end to a six-day uprising which has shaken the world's largest bauxite exporter, military sources said on Saturday.
Shops and businesses were shuttered in the capital Conakry and heavily armed elite military units loyal to President Lansana Conte remained at the bridge guarding the entrance to the downtown peninsula which houses the presidential palace and government offices.
Several people, mostly civilians, have been killed and dozens wounded during fighting in Conakry and other towns after junior soldiers revolted over pay on Monday. The dispute has not affected production of bauxite, the raw material for aluminium.
An uneasy calm has prevailed since Thursday in the West African country as the government began to disburse salary arrears to the rebels.
State television showed images of a meeting between rebel spokesman Adjutant Claude Pivi, Armed Forces Chief of Staff General Diarra Camara and President Conte late on Friday.
The two sides were due to reconvene this weekend to try to reach a definitive agreement, state television said.
"He (Pivi) laid out their demands and talked about their frustrations. Another meeting is planned ... to strike a final deal," a top army official told Reuters. Another senior military source confirmed the meeting was scheduled for Sunday morning.
For decades, Guinea was a bastion of relative stability in coup-prone West Africa but in recent years the former French colony has been shaken by general strikes and army uprisings.
Leaders from the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), led by the organisation's current chairman President Blaise Compaore of Burkina Faso, held talks on Guinea on the sidelines of a conference in Japan.
"The meeting expressed great concern about reported unrest by elements of the Armed Forces of Guinea which put at risk the safety and security of the civilian population and poses a grave threat to the fragile peace in the entire ... area," said an ECOWAS statement.
As a sign of good faith in an upcoming deal, the mutineers released late on Friday an army general they had taken hostage.
In apparent celebration, rebel soldiers in Conakry's main Alpha Yaya Diallo military camp opened fire into the air on Friday. Several residents of the local Yimbaya neighbourhood were injured by falling bullets, witnesses said.
"I was in the hospital visiting one of my friends. There were people injured from Yimbaya who were emergency evacuated. I counted five of them," said student Hadja Sylla.
The mutiny erupted after Conte, who has held power since 1984, dismissed Prime Minister Lansana Kouyate last week, 15 months after he was appointed to defuse a general strike in which more than 130 people were killed.
New Prime Minister Ahmed Tidiane Souare agreed to pay the rebels 5 million Guinean francs ($1,100) each in salary arrears and dismissed the defence minister, but the mutineers presented new demands for the removal of senior generals whom they accuse of corruption.
Military insiders say the government is unlikely to agree to dismiss top brass, many of whom are supporters of Conte.
Analysts say that Souare's prompt capitulation to the rebels wage demands risks encouraging further unrest, against the backdrop of the threat of new strikes by union leaders. (For full Reuters Africa coverage and to have your say on the top issues, visit: africa.reuters.com/ ) (Writing by Daniel Flynn; Editing by Giles Elgood)
