Thousands of Guineans protest president's bid for 3rd term

Tens of thousands of people have marched in the streets of Guinea’s capital protesting a bid by the president to seek another term.

Several thousand police and gendarmes were deployed Thursday, but the march was calm unlike smaller protests last week that left at least nine dead.

Most demonstrators wore red shirts bearing the acronym for the National Front for the Defense of the Constitution, the coalition of civil society and political groups that organized the marches. Its leaders were jailed Tuesday for public disorder.

President Alpha Conde’s mandate ends in December 2020 but he seeks a referendum to allow a third term in the West African nation of some 12 million people.