By Saliou Samb CONAKRY, June 1 (Reuters) - Mutinous troops met military commanders in Guinea on Sunday and made some progress in talks on a deal to end a soldiers' revolt over pay in the bauxite-exporting West African state, witnesses said. They said a final settlement was expected to be worked out on Monday with the blessing of President Lansana Conte, who met delegations from both sides during negotiations held in the Samory military camp of the coastal capital Conakry. Conte, the mutineers and the military chiefs began the talks on Friday after four days of violent protests in Conakry and some other garrison towns by rebellious troops, who fired indiscriminately into the air to press their demands. Several people, mostly civilians, were killed and dozens wounded, almost all by stray bullets raining down on populated areas during the protest shootings in the air. The mutineers also looted shops and the homes of military commanders, but made no serious attempt to take over government installations. Exports of bauxite from Guinea, the world's leading exporter of the mineral, the raw material for aluminium, have not been affected so far. New Prime Minister Ahmed Tidiane Souare had already agreed on Tuesday to the mutineers' demands for the sacking of the defence minister and for the payment of claimed salary arrears. But the rebels had also demanded the removal of senior generals whom they accused of theft and corruption. Sunday's talks included discussions on candidates to be defence minister, on pay and promotions demanded by the rebel soldiers, and on cheaper rice for members of the armed forces. "They've reached an understanding on the name of the defence minister," a junior officer present at the talks told Reuters. But he did not name the proposed candidate, saying the nomination still had to be formalised by the president. There was no mention either of the proposed removal of the military top brass, who are regarded as loyal to Conte. Their sacking is seen as unlikely. Guinea's small but restless armed forces, which suffer from generational and ethnic divisions, have long been a prop for the ageing diabetic president since he seized power in a 1984 military coup. But they have staged several mutinies and protests over the last 12 years, mostly over pay and conditions. In a sign of easing tension in the capital at the weekend, Conte's presidential guard withdrew with their tanks from defensive positions they had occupied at the strategic Nov. 8 bridge which controls the entrance to downtown Conakry. To show good faith in an upcoming deal, the mutineers released late on Friday an army general they had taken hostage. The mutiny erupted after Conte dismissed Prime Minister Lansana Kouyate on May 20, 15 months after he was named as a consensus choice to defuse a violent general strike last year in which more than 130 people were killed. Conte's appointment of former mines minister Souare as his new premier is contested by the country's main unions and opposition party, and at least one union boss has warned of the possibility of another general strike. (For full Reuters Africa coverage and to have your say on the top issues, visit: http://africa.reuters.com/) (Writing by Pascal Fletcher; Editing by Ibon Villelabeitia)
People trade petrol in front of a closed petrol station as shops and businesses were shuttered and heavily-armed elite military units loyal to President Lansana Conte remained at the bridge guarding ...
