Thousands of people went on a rampage in Guinea's eastern city of Kankan today, looting shops and killing a soldier, as union leaders vowed to resume a crippling general strike to oust the prime minister.
At least 14 people were killed yesterday when protests erupted across the mineral-rich West African country after President Lansana Conte named a close ally as premier.
Unions say President Conte is no longer fit to rule after 23 years in power and want an independent prime minister, free from the graft allegations that have tainted the ailing Conte's administration, to take over the running of government.
Residents in Kankan, an opposition stronghold some 690 km (430 miles) east of the capital Conakry, said protestors had looted businesses and raided the houses of government officials.
"There were several thousand of them. They broke into the houses of government dignitaries to pillage and steal everything," said Oumar Kaba, a local resident.
Other witnesses, who asked not to be identified, said the governor's house was looted and a soldier guarding him was killed. "He was patrolling the town when he was shot," said one denizen.
The dilapidated streets of central Conakry were deserted, with gangs of youths prowling and concrete blocks scattered on some roads -- remnants of barricades erected the day before.
Police kept guard on the main route into the peninsula which houses government ministries and the presidential palace, while witnesses reported bursts of shooting in some suburbs.
Unions have given the president until Monday to name a new consensus premier, as he agreed two weeks ago to end an 18-day nationwide stoppage in which at least 90 people were killed.