Guinean government and protesters move to end violence

Conakry (AFP) - Guinea's government and opposition protesters offered concessions Tuesday to end two days of violent clashes which have left two dead, including a young girl, and several wounded by gunfire.

Hundreds of youths have hurled stones at police, who have responded with tear gas and warning shots since Monday, bringing traffic to a standstill in the capital Conakry.

At least seven anti-government demonstrators were shot Monday -- one fatally -- while the government said Tuesday a young girl had also died in the violence "after a fall".

Guinea's opposition said it was calling off the protests until next week, after an appeal by Prime Minister Mohamed Said Fofana for talks.

"We have decided to suspend the demonstrations until Monday to allow our members and the population space to breathe," opposition leader Cellou Dalein Diallo told AFP.

The protesters have been rallying against the fragile security situation in the west African nation, which they blame on the regime of President Alpha Conde, who is out of the country.

They are also angry about the timetable set down for presidential and local elections, which they claim has been pushed through without consultation and gives the ruling party an unfair advantage.

Diallo's announcement followed a government statement which said the prime minister had "set up a small committee to make concrete proposals for the rapid resumption of dialogue with the opposition parties".

"Ahead of these proposals, the prime minister formally asks the leaders of political parties to agree to come to the discussion table so that the debate can be held in an atmosphere of serenity," it said.

- 'Open to suggestions' -

The statement added that the government remained "open to any suggestion that respects the law" to end the crisis.

But Diallo told AFP any dialogue with the government could only take place if the election commission cancelled the current electoral timetable.

AFP correspondents on the ground witnessed security forces mobilising in large numbers Tuesday to prevent opposition activists gathering for unauthorised rallies.

The government said police had arrested 15 people, while 10 wounded were being treated in hospital, including seven admitted on Tuesday.

"The death of a young girl after a fall was recorded," it added, without giving any details.

Diallo, a former premier, addressed the demonstrators from his car, shaking his fist and shouting: "I trust you -- the republican opposition trusts you and is relying on you."

Protesters marched alongside his vehicle for several kilometres, chanting "Cellou for president" and "down with dictatorship, down with assassins, death to the killers".

The violence resumed after at least seven youths had sustained gunshot wounds on Monday, according to the opposition.

The director of Conakry's Mother and Child clinic, Ibrahima Balde, told AFP one of those wounded later died.

The government has denied claims by the opposition and medical sources that the police had fired at protesters.

It said in a statement on Tuesday the prime minister had "given firm instructions on maintaining law and order, in strict compliance with the law and hopes that light be shed on the gunfire recorded during the clashes and the circumstances that caused injuries".

- 'No legitimacy' -

Residents of the city's Hamdallaye suburb -- where at least three protesters were shot on Monday -- complained that police had raided their homes early on Tuesday.

After a night of relative calm, gunfire could be heard in the district of Cosa in the morning, an AFP reporter said, although it was not clear if they were intended to cause harm or were just warning shots.

Tuesday's clashes were initially less intense than those of the previous day, but flared up after Diallo's appearance before his supporters, AFP reporters said.

Shops remained shut across Conakry and the Marche Madina -- one of the largest markets in west Africa -- was closed for most of the day.

Guinea's opposition boycotted parliament in March in protest over the timetable for a presidential election.

It accused Conde -- who is in the United States for IMF/World Bank meetings -- of using the Ebola epidemic as an excuse to postpone voting.

Diallo, along with fellow former prime ministers Sidya Toure and Lansana Kouyate, has accused Conde of repeated rights violations and said he had "lost all legitimacy".

They have called on supporters to back several demands, including a call to bring forward local elections due in March next year.

Guinea, one of the world's poorest countries despite vast potential for mineral exploitation, was run by a succession of autocratic rulers after gaining independence from France in 1958.

A caretaker regime oversaw the transition of power from a military junta to civilian rule in 2010.

The last election -- September 2013's parliamentary vote -- was delayed by almost three years, stoking deadly ethnic tensions.