The separate appeals came after shops owned by the Fula people were looted or destroyed in Conakry, Kankan and Siguiri on Friday and Saturday, according to witnesses. General Sekouba Konate, appointed nine months ago to guide Guinea to its first free presidential elections, warned late Saturday he would not allow Guineans to “be hunted down because of their ethnic, religious or political background”. Speaking on State television, backed by armed soldiers, Konate condemned violence that had hit “the entire country” adding: “The unity of the nation will be preserved at any price”.
