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| - Several opposition figures in Guinea were arrested Wednesday, while protesters clashed with security forces in fresh unrest just 11 days from a constitutional referendum that has prompted huge anti-government protests. The poll is due to be held on March 1, at the same time as parliamentary elections. But hundreds of thousands of people have protested in the West African state since mid-October over fears that President Alpha Conde plans to use the constitutional referendum to remain in power. At least 28 civilians and one gendarme have been killed in the sometimes violent protests, according to an AFP tally. Wednesday saw renewed clashes between protesters and security officials in parts of the capital Conakry, according to an AFP journalist. Several opposition figures were also detained or questioned on Wednesday, including three members of the National Front for the Defense of the Constitution (FNDC), a group behind the mass rallies. The trio -- all women -- were arrested in Conakry, charged with unlawful assembly and "disturbing public order" and then jailed, according to their lawyer Salifou Beavogui. In the central town of Oure-Kaba, opposition MP and FNDC member Djessira Traore was also questioned for campaigning for voters to stay away from the polls on March 1. Opposition parties have vowed to boycott both the parliamentary elections and the constitutional referendum. Guinea's main opposition leader Cellou Dalein Diallo tweeted that the MP's detention was a "violation of parliamentary immunity". Traore told AFP she was released after appearing before a judge. And in another instance of unrest, a convoy carrying FNDC members was hit by rocks in the southeast of the country, opposition figures and one witness said. "All the windows of our vehicles have broken," said FNDC member Jacques Gbonimy, who blamed supporters of President Conde's party. Jailed under previous hardline regimes, Conde became Guinea's first democratically elected president in 2010 and was returned to office by voters in 2015 for his second and final five-year term under the current constitution. When he first launched consultations on reforming the constitution in September, the opposition accused him of seeking to in effect restart his time in office and allow him to run for a third term. Conde has said his party will decide whether he will run for president again, adding that there is "nothing more democratic" than holding a referendum. bm/mrb/eml/pvh
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