The West African country currently harbours around half a million refugees who have fled the Liberian and Sierra Leonean conflicts.
By Elizabeth Blunt
The authorities in Guinea are continuing with a round-up of thousands of refugees from Liberia and Sierra Leone.
The crackdown began on Saturday after a speech by President Lansana Conte in which he blamed the refugees for helping armed dissidents who had been responsible for three border raids this month.
The West African country currently harbours around half a million refugees who have fled the Liberian and Sierra Leonean conflicts.
Twenty-four hours after the president's speech, the crackdown on foreigners in the capital Conakry shows no signs of abating, with Guinean civilians joining enthusiastically in hunting down the refugees.
The Sierra Leonean ambassador in Conakry said that people had been flocking to the embassy after being turned out by their landlords, or told by neighbourhood chiefs that they were no longer wanted in the area.
There were accusations that the security forces had beaten people, broken down doors, extorted money and stolen the refugees' belongings.
Those rounded up have been taken to police cells, or are being held in public buildings or open spaces around the city.
Embassy refuge
About 700 frightened people spent the night in the Sierra Leone embassy compound.
The ambassador said that among them were a group of 30 or 40 amputees who lost limbs during the civil war in Sierra Leone and were on their way to the United States for treatment.
Sierra Leoneans seem to have been the main targets. There are Liberians living in Conakry, but most of them are much less obviously foreign, being from the same tribes and speaking the same languages as the local population.
Efforts are now being concentrated on making it possible for those refugees who wish to leave to do so.
The Sierra Leone ambassador said the vast majority felt threatened and wanted to go home, and he was trying to get the authorities to allow them to leave by boat.
They can't travel by road since this would mean passing right through the area of the recent fighting, and the Guineans have been refusing to allow boats from Freetown to dock, to stop any more Sierra Leoneans coming into the country.