The air and sea borders of Guinea have been re-opened by Prime Minister Jean-Marie Dore ending the curfew that had been imposed. The West African nation saw street violence after elections which had led to the imposition of the curfew. The hours of the night time curfew have also been reduced from 6 pm to 6 am to 10 pm to 6 am.
Opening of the borders is seen as a sign of stability returning to the nation. The capital city of Conakry has no violence since the Supreme Court validated the results of the elections on December 2. The veteran opposition leader Alpha Conde won the elections against his rival Cellou Dalein Diallo.
The interim President General Sekouba Konate had placed the country under a state of emergency about three weeks ago as clashes saw 10 people killed and 200 injured after the results were announced in November. The elections held on 7 November 2010 were the first transfer of power in Guinea since attaining independence from its colonial ruler France.
Richly endowed with minerals, Guinea possesses over 25 billion tonnes (metric tons) of bauxite – and perhaps up to one-half of the world's reserves. In addition, Guinea's mineral wealth includes more than 4-billion tonnes of high-grade iron ore, significant diamond and gold deposits, and undetermined quantities of uranium.