Guinea names former opposition leader Mamadou Oury Bah as prime minister

Former Guinean opposition leader Mamadou Oury Bah has been appointed prime minister by the country's military junta, according to a decree read on national television on Tuesday.

This appointment follows a week after it abruptly dissolved the government.

The political veteran faces a challenging task of setting up a government amid an indefinite general strike launched this week over deep economic hardships and the military authorities' allegedly repressive policies.

Two people were killed on Monday after police clashed with protesters during a nationwide workers' strike.

Trade unions have been demanding lower food prices as Guineans struggle with the high cost of living.

The economist has been a prominent figure on the Guinean political scene since the early 90s. He served as minister of reconciliation in a consensus government in the wake of a political crisis triggered by the killing of at least 130 people in union-led protests in 2007.

The founder and vice president of the UFDG party later spent four years in exile in France, during which time he was convicted in absentia for a 2011 assassination attempt against Conde.

He returned to Guinea in 2016 following a presidential pardon but was later pushed out of UFDG.

Guinea is expected to hold elections to restore democratic rule in 10 months when the 24-month transition period set by the junta and regional bloc Ecowas expires.