Riots over power hit Guinea alumina refinery town

CONAKRY – Protesters in western Guinea erected burning barricades and attacked homes and hotels housing expatriates from a Russian-controlled alumina plant on Tuesday, forcing some to be evacuated, witnesses said.

The riots, which blocked roads around the town of Fria, 160 km north of the capital Conakry, broke out after three days of power outages which some residents said were caused by the industry plant consuming energy supplies. The facility at Fria – the sole alumina refinery in the West African country – is run by the Alumina Company of Guinea (ACG), which is controlled by Russia’s UC RUSAL.There was no immediate indication of disruption to production at the plant, which produces around 700 000 tonnes a year of alumina, which is processed from bauxite to be smelted into aluminium.Guinea is the world’s top exporter of bauxite, but most of the population remains mired in poverty.Mains electricity and piped water are a rarity even in the capital.”People started demonstrating late last night when they saw that the power cut which started on Sunday hadn’t been resolved,” said one senior RUSAL official in Fria, who asked not to be named.”They’ve been throwing stones, burning tyres and erecting barricades which have prevented all vehicle traffic.”One witness in the town said the security forces shot into the air to disperse the protesters.”At the moment people are talking about one person wounded but I think there must be more, even if they are only light wounds,” the resident said, declining to be named.Wives and children of expatriate workers had been evacuated to other towns while workers spent the night inside a company compound, the official said.Several of their vehicles were looted.”Those employees who were able to move around came by foot.But not everyone was able to come.The atmosphere is gloomy and people haven’t come to work,” said one refinery worker.Nampa-ReutersThe facility at Fria – the sole alumina refinery in the West African country – is run by the Alumina Company of Guinea (ACG), which is controlled by Russia’s UC RUSAL.There was no immediate indication of disruption to production at the plant, which produces around 700 000 tonnes a year of alumina, which is processed from bauxite to be smelted into aluminium.Guinea is the world’s top exporter of bauxite, but most of the population remains mired in poverty.Mains electricity and piped water are a rarity even in the capital.”People started demonstrating late last night when they saw that the power cut which started on Sunday hadn’t been resolved,” said one senior RUSAL official in Fria, who asked not to be named.”They’ve been throwing stones, burning tyres and erecting barricades which have prevented all vehicle traffic.”One witness in the town said the security forces shot into the air to disperse the protesters.”At the moment people are talking about one person wounded but I think there must be more, even if they are only light wounds,” the resident said, declining to be named.Wives and children of expatriate workers had been evacuated to other towns while workers spent the night inside a company compound, the official said.Several of their vehicles were looted.”Those employees who were able to move around came by foot.But not everyone was able to come.The atmosphere is gloomy and people haven’t come to work,” said one refinery worker.Nampa-Reuters