Guinea security forces tear gas opposition rally

Guinean security forces used tear gas and truncheons to break up a rally of more than a thousand opposition supporters in the capital highlighting deepening tensions over upcoming legislative elections.Clashes broke out on Saturday in Guineas capital Conakry during an opposition rally ahead of polls. Security forces used tear gas and truncheons to break up the march, according to opposition and government officials.Several people were lightly injured and others arrested during the violence which underscores growing unease in the West African country since President Alpha Conde came to power in hotly contested polls in late 2010.They objected to our meeting and they arrested people, even though we had completed all the necessary administrative procedures, said Aboubacar Sylla, a spokesman for the two main opposition coalition groups LPCP and ADP.The opposition had called the rally to protest what it says is the unfair handling of the forthcoming legislative elections - polls meant to complete Guineas transition from military rule and unblock millions of dollars in foreign aid.A junta ran Guinea, the worlds top supplier of bauxite, for nearly two years prior to Condes election, but subsequent parliamentary elections have been repeatedly delayed by political infighting.