Guinea: Journalist shot dead outside opposition meeting

CONAKRY, Guinea (AP) - Guinea's government says a journalist was shot and killed during clashes outside a meeting of the main opposition party.

A government statement issued Friday said El Hadj Mohamed Diallo, a reporter for local news website Guinee 7, was shot in the chest during Friday's clashes. It was unclear who was responsible. The statement said officials would open an investigation.

The violence began after Mamadou Oury Bah, an opposition figure who returned from exile in France last month, tried to enter a meeting of the Union of Democratic Forces of Guinea. Bah, who was convicted in a 2011 assassination attempt on the country's president but pardoned last year, has been critical of the party's leadership.

Local press organizations called on journalists to suspend coverage of the party's activities for security reasons.