Soldiers with orders to shoot rioters and looters are patrolling the West African nation of Guinea, where President Lansana Conte has declared martial law.
The crackdown is aimed at crushing a general strike that had mushroomed into an open rebellion against Conte's 23-year rule.
The violence and food shortages have made life that much more difficult for Guinea's poor. Protesters are seeking the ouster of Conte, a chain-smoking diabetic who they say is unfit to rule the former French colony.
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