{{Guinea deployed security forces to towns in the southeast on Wednesday in a bid to stem three days of ethnic violence in the West African country in which at least 17 people have been killed, officials said.}}<\/p>\n
Guinea’s second city of Nzerekore and the surrounding region near the border with Ivory Coast have been gripped by clashes between local communities after a man accused of being a thief was lynched on Sunday.<\/p>\n
Government spokesman Damantang Albert Camara said the toll rose to 17 after a death was reported on Wednesday in Beyla, a town near Nzerekore. About 90 people have been injured, he said.<\/p>\n
“We fear that this toll will rise,” Camara added.<\/p>\n
After several days of fighting between ethnic gangs, residents said security forces arrived in Nzerekore, Beyla and nearby Koule, where the initial killing took place.<\/p>\n
“The soldiers are trying to stop people from leaving their homes so they can try to control the situation,” Nzerekore resident Ousmane Balde told Reuters.<\/p>\n
The violence came shortly after Guinea’s rival political parties agreed to hold legislative elections on Sept. 24 after months of deadlock and street protests, which often degenerated into ethnic clashes.<\/p>\n
The poll is meant to be the final step in the return to civilian rule after a 2008 coup.<\/p>\n
President Alpha Conde won a 2010 presidential election but his rivals accuse him of seeking to rig the legislative vote. Conde draws support from Guinea’s second-largest ethnic group, the Malinke, while the opposition is backed by the Peul, who account for around 40 percent of the population.<\/p>\n
Mineral-rich Guinea is the world’s largest bauxite exporter, and mining firms have signed multi-billion dollar deals in a bid to secure untapped mineral riches, especially iron ore. However, political instability has led to some investment being frozen.<\/p>\n
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