Bonfire smoke adds misery to life in Conakry

A pall of heavy smoke from thousands of backyard bonfires lit to chase away an evil spirit has created a foul atmosphere in the Guinean capital Conakry. Health workers and environmentalists have appealed over the radio for people to put out the fires, which have clogged the air with pollution for several days.

The foul smoke from burning litter and car tyres has added to the misery already caused by six months of chronic water and power shortages in this port city of up to two million people.

Residents began lighting bonfires in a panic last week in reaction to a story that a woman and her baby had died after seeing the face of what appeared to be an elderly relative through the window of their house. When the woman, who was carrying the baby on her back, opened the door to this relative she was confronted by an evil spirit instead and fainted. The woman is reported to have related this incident to neighbours before she and her baby died on their way to hospital.

Many Conakry residents believe that smoke will confuse the spirit and keep it away from their own door, so fires have been lit in backyards across the city using any available materials. Appeals for them to be put out have been widely ignored.

More than 90 percent of Guinea's estimated eight million population are Muslim, but a belief in traditional African witchcraft remains deep rooted.