By Marie-Louise Gumuchian and Opheera McDoom ADDIS ABABA, Jan 27 (Reuters) - West African leaders are hoping to meet officials in Guinea, where a general strike has paralysed the country for more than two weeks, Nigeria's foreign minister said on Saturday. Guinean President Lansana Conte has agreed to powers for a new prime minister, which union bosses say could end the strike on Saturday but regional bloc ECOWAS said it remained concerned. "We are very worried... We would not like see another prolonged crisis (in the region)," ECOWAS executive secretary Mohamed Ibn Chambas said on the sidelines of a meeting of African foreign ministers in Addis Ababa. At least 60 people have been killed in street clashes between police and soldiers and strike supporters since the stoppage began on Jan. 10 to challenge Conte's 23-year rule, rights campaigners say. Nigerian Foreign Minister Joy Ogwu told Reuters ECOWAS had sent an envoy to Guinea. "The deputy of ECOWAS is in Conakry and he is studying the situation on the ground to pave the way for a ministerial visit," she said at the foreign ministers' meeting. "There is already a group consisting of the president of Nigeria, president of Senegal and the president of the commission to have meetings at the highest level in Guinea." Asked when the talks would take place, Ogwu said: "Soon, I would think. As soon as we get the green light." The strike has halted most shipments of bauxite from the world's top exporter of the ore, and triggered food shortages in the capital. On Friday, government and union negotiators appeared to have made a breakthrough after three days of deadlocked talks. Strike leaders called their stoppage after Conte's personal intervention to free from jail two former allies accused of graft and a series of sudden and chaotic cabinet reshuffles. They say the president, a chain-smoking, reclusive diabetic in his 70s, has become increasingly erratic in his 23-year rule over Guinea, whose nearly 10 million people live in poverty despite the country's mineral riches. Conte's clan-based rule has depended on the support of the army since he seized power in the former French colony in a 1984 coup. Diplomats doubt a consensus prime minister will do much to bring about change as long as Conte's family and its allies continue to influence government affairs. Chambas commended Conte's decision to appoint a prime minister, calling it a "step in the right direction." But he remained cautious, saying the appointment needed to be made as soon as possible.
