Former Prime Minister of Guinea-Conakry dies in France at the age of 81

Segundo sources close to the family of the former prime minister of Guinea-Conakry, Sidya Touré died on Friday, day 25, in Paris (France), after several decades at the forefront of Guinean public life.

Sidya Touré was admitted to the hospital American from Paris about two weeks ago, after having fallen ill in Abidjan, the largest city in Côte d'Ivoire and the economic capital, adds AFP, citing sources close to its family, who asked for anonymity for security reasons.

From his exile in Ivory Coast, Sidya Touré led one of the main opposition parties in Guinea-Conakry, the Union of Republican Forces (UFR) — one of the 40 political parties dissolved in March during a vast offensive against public liberties led by the country's long-standing strong man, Mamady Doumbouya.

Touré lived in Abidjan since leaving Guinea-Conakry, following the military coup d'état of September 2021 that led Mamady Doumbouya to power.

The latter was subsequently elected President of the West African country last December, in a vote in which neither the UFR nor the other two main opposition parties, the UFDG and the RPG participated.

UFDG leader Cellou Dalein Diallo, who also lives in exile, lamented the loss of “a friend, a companion of the road and of the struggle”, in a statement published on Facebook.

Sidya Touré and Diallo shared, according to the latter, a “common dream” of “transforming” Guinea-Conakry, with all its potential, “in a prosperous economy, governed by the rules and principles of democracy and the rule of law and based on virtuous governance”.

The Guinean President Lansana Conté, in power between 1984 and 2008, appointed Sidya Touré as Prime Minister in July 1996, a post he held until March 1999.

His mandate was marked by administrative and economic reforms and efforts to strengthen Guinea-Conacri's relations with international financial institutions.