[Guinean news] Fire damages Matoto market

A severe fire ravaged through the Matoto market in Conakry several weeks ago, destroying over 20 boutiques. No lives were lost. An electrical short circuit was identified as the cause of the blaze.

[Guinean news] Guinea thumps Botswana in African Cup

The Guinean national soccer team crushed debutantes Botswana 6-1 in their second group stage game at the African Nations Cup. This was by far the biggest victory by any team at the tournament so far. Botswana had a player ejected shortly before half time for a bad tackle when the score was 3-1.

Guinea play tournament co-favorites Ghana in their final group stage game on Wednesday Feb. 1 at 1:00 pm Eastern Time (1800 GMT). The Syli national will likely advance to the quarterfinals with a win and will likely be eliminated with a loss. They will advance with a draw only if Botswana defeats Mali in the other match.

[Guinean news] Live Tweeting the African Nations Cup

Follow FOG's Twitter feed for live tweeting of Guinea's African Nations Cup 2012 matches.

[Guinean news] Guinean soccer team loses to Mali in Nations Cup

Guinea's national soccer team lost by a 1-0 margin to Mali in both teams' opening match at the African Nations Cup tournament held in Gabon and Equatorial Guinea. The Syli national lost to their neighbors despite creating far more quality scoring opportunities. Guinea's next group stage game is on Saturday against Botswana, a team making their first ever appearance at the tournament. Their final match will be next Wednesday against Ghana, one of the teams favored to win the tournament.

[Guinean news] Deadly rioting in Kamsar over power cuts

Riots erupted in the northwestern town of Kamsar and one person was killed. The protests erupted in response to repeated power outages the mining town. An official for the mining company CBG said protesters blocked the railroad tracks but were dislodged by the army, according to Reuters. AFP added that over 30 were injured after soldiers fired on the protesters. The police station and gendarmerie were reportedly attacked and vehicles set ablaze.

[Guinean news] Syli national Nations Cup opens next week

The Guinean national soccer team's opening match in the 2012 African Nations Cup will occur next week. The tournament will be held in Equatorial Guinea and Gabon. Guinea's opening round matches are as follows:

Jan. 24: vs Mali (1500 GMT)
Jan. 28: vs Botswana (1500 GMT)
Feb. 1: vs Ghana (1700 GMT)

The full Nations Cup schedule can be found here, though bear in mind that kickoffs on the linked to site are in central African time, which is two hours ahead of GMT and currently seven hours ahead of American EST.

Details regarding any television and/or online broadcasting are not available but readers are invited to share anything they learn.

[Guinean news] Govt, opposition open dialogue

Late last month, the government of Pres. Alpha Condé, political opposition parties and civil society organizations met with each other, according to Jeune Afrique. The dialogue was established to alleviate tension following the indefinite postponement of legislative elections that had originally been scheduled for last December 29. Despite this, several key opposition figures, most notably former prime ministers Cellou Dalein Diallo and Sidya Touré, were not present at the meeting.

[Guinean news] Army retires 4600 soldiers

The Guinean government has forcibly retired some 4600 soldiers in a attempt to reform an institution described by Reuters as 'notoriously oversized and unruly army." Reports suggest that the army's ranks have quadrupled in the last decade.