Two dead over constitutional reform process

Two youths have been killed in Guinea during open-ended protests against President Alpha Conde's suspected bid to prolong his rule. The West African country has been wracked by demonstrations since mid-October over concerns that Conde intends to use a planned constitutional reform to seek a third term in office. A TimesLIVE report notes that at least 20 civilians and one gendarme have been killed since the start of protests in the capital Conakry. After months of organising mass protests, the National Front for the Defence of the Constitution, an alliance of opposition groups, raised the stakes last week and called for 'huge open-ended demonstrations'. Conde (81) has neither confirmed nor denied the claim that he put forward a draft Constitution last month intending to keep himself in office for a third term.