Guineans bid farewell to longtime ruler

Tens of thousands of loyalists Friday mourned the death of the dictator who ruled Guinea for nearly a quarter of a century, lining the roads to the palace grounds where he was interred.

Lansana Conte, who took power in 1984, was the only leader many Guineans had ever known. Though he was widely seen as corrupt and authoritarian, many regarded stability under him as preferable to the bloody civil wars elsewhere in West Africa.

The leader of a military coup declared hours after Conte’s death at age 74 did not attend the public memorial.

Later Friday, residents in the capital, Conakry, reported hearing gunfire near the barracks that houses the coup leaders and at another military camp nearby. In a state radio broadcast, spokesman Nouhou Thiam said the leaders were “vigorously” enforcing a curfew.

Conte, who died Monday, had seized power in a coup after the death of his predecessor, Sekou Toure, who had ruled since the country’s 1958 independence from France.

Guinea is the world’s largest producer of bauxite, used to produce aluminum. But it suffers from corruption, inflation and high unemployment, and its 10 million people are among the world’s poorest.