This was not a protest against the high cost of living caused by the current global economic crisis; the slogan of the insurgents called for the violent ouster of the government elected at the polls, said the president in a live radio-televised address to the country, where he ruled a 12-hour curfew.

In the clashes, 10 people died, four of them members of the security forces, according to an unofficial count spread by the radio and written press, while internet remains off the air.

For weeks, the opposition has been fueling social tensions as part of a premeditated attempt to bring down the government, said the head of state, elected in the 2018 elections.

The clashes began when a group of women, joined by mostly young men, took to the streets to protest against inflation, the rising cost of living in this small West African country bordering Guinea, and in demand for the resignation of President Maada Bio.

Together with the official Army patrols with megaphones, they toured the streets of this capital calling for calm and urging the population to resume their daily activities.

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