(Recasts with comment from church, union leaders) By Nick Tattersall and Saliou Samb CONAKRY, Jan 24 (Reuters) - Guinean President Lansana Conte agreed in principle on Wednesday to name a consensus prime minister, the key demand of unions staging a general strike in which more than 40 people have been killed, mediators said. Union leaders say the reclusive Conte, a chain-smoking diabetic in his 70s, is unfit to rule and are demanding he name a premier to run the impoverished West African country. "He is ready to listen to the people. He is even in agreement that, if the people want one, there should be a new prime minister," Pastor Etienne Leno, one of several religious leaders who met Conte on Wednesday, told Reuters. "Now we must find a credible candidate." The two-week-old strike has halted shipments of bauxite from the world's top exporter of the ore, and triggered food shortages in the oceanside capital Conakry as markets and banks remain shuttered. Church mediators met union representatives to deliver Conte's offer, but strike leaders demanded concrete action from the president before they would end their protest, the third of its kind in a year. "The people of Guinea do not want any more promises. They want something concrete," said Abdoulaye Sow, deputy head of the powerful USTG union group. "It is an agreement in principle. Now it is necessary to put it into practice." There is no obvious favourite to fill the post of consensus prime minister and, diplomats say, any appointee may struggle to end the political crisis as long as Conte's family continues to influence government affairs. BLOODIEST DAY Conte's clan-based rule has been founded on the support of the army since he seized power in the former French colony in a 1984 coup. He has shown little willingness to take a back seat. Union leaders had said they could no longer negotiate after soldiers and police opened fire on unarmed protesters on Monday, the bloodiest day of the strike so far. They returned to the negotiating table after the personal intervention of Conte's wife, Henriette, late on Tuesday. Hospital officials said at least 33 people were killed in the capital on Monday and more than 150 injured, in addition to at least eight people killed in clashes in the previous days. "The killings have to be investigated expeditiously and impartially, and anyone found responsible for abuses must be brought to justice," U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights Louise Arbour said in a statement. Security remained tight around Conakry on Wednesday, a sprawling city of low-rise concrete blocks and tin-roofed shacks. But more people ventured out than earlier this week. "We're tired. There is no water, no electricity, nothing to eat," said Amadou Toure, 32, a taxi driver. Some youths gathered on street corners said they were ready to protest if talks failed. But others said Conte's departure seemed less likely than ever after Monday's violent repression. "It's the government that has won this strike," said one restaurant worker dejectedly, asking not to be named. European Commission aid chief Louis Michel urged dialogue. The European Union resumed aid payments to Guinea just a month ago in return for progress on democratic reforms. The United Nations and African Union also criticised the authorities' use of force. But few foreign powers appear ready to get involved in what is largely seen as an internal affair. (Additional reporting by Richard Waddington in Geneva and Mark John in Brussels)
