Once a bastion of peace in war-torn West Africa, concerns have mounted about rising tensions in Guinea. Growing frustration with ailing President Lansana Conte who took power in 1984, led to a military coup within hours of his death in December 2008.

The bloodless coup was led by junior army officer Moussa Camara, who declared himself president and head of the junta's new National Council for Democracy and Development. He promised to usher in a new era of freedom and prosperity for the impoverished country.

The African Union and West African regional bloc Ecowas responded to the coup by suspending Guinea's membership until elections are held.

Lansana Conte also took power in a bloodless coup in 1984 after the death of the first president, Sekou Toure, making similar promises to usher in an a new era of freedom and prosperity.

Although he introduced multi-party democracy after the end of the Cold War, he remained a military autocrat. Towards the end of his rule the reclusive, chain-smoking diabetic septuagenarian governed with a corrupt clique of military and civilian cronies and tolerated no rivals.

In 2001, a constitutional referendum ensured Conte could extend his rule for life. It allowed the president to run for an unlimited number of terms. The opposition called the referendum a "constitutional coup d'etat". Two years later, elections cleared the way for him to rule until 2010.

Violent protests against Conte and a crippling national strike threw the country into two months of turmoil in early 2007, sparking fears that unrest could reignite conflict across a volatile West African region slowly emerging from a decade of civil wars.

Anti-government protests were led by union bosses who said Conte was unfit to rule. More than 130 people were killed in clashes with security forces who were told to impose a strict curfew and shoot rioters and looters. Human Rights Watch said Guinea's security forces shot, beat and robbed civilians during two weeks of martial law in February 2007.

The strike action ended when Conte named respected diplomat Lansana Kouyate as prime minister. The power-sharing deal helped satisfy union demands and defuse protests against Conte.

But Belgian-based think tank International Crisis Group warned that ongoing repression could lead to full-scale civil war.

The unrest also raised fears that violence could spill over into Guinea's volatile neighbours. These include Liberia and Sierra Leone, both recovering from civil wars, Guinea Bissau and Ivory Coast.

Tensions between Conte and the unions rose again in early 2008 in response to Conte's dismissal of a minister in the consensus government, but a new national strike was averted when the government agreed to monitor the implementation of the power-sharing deal.

Guinea is the world's top exporter of bauxite, the ore used to make aluminium. Yet despite its mineral wealth, the country is one of the poorest in the world and around a quarter of people are undernourished. See Guinea facts and figures.

But it's not just Guineans who are suffering.

The country is host to more than 29,000 refugees and asylum seekers from neighbouring countries - predominantly Ivory Coast, Liberia and Sierra Leone, according to the U.N. refugee agency. About 9,000 live in urban areas, where they don't have documentation and find it hard to get work, but most live in camps in the southeast.

Repatriation had been progressing fast since the start of the 21st century. As recently as 2000, Guinea was hosting almost half a million refugees from neighbouring countries, but with the end of civil war in Liberia and Sierra Leone most have gone home.

The unrest of 2007 disrupted repatriation of people hoping to return home and restricted aid workers' access to camps.

International aid and investment is problematic in a country plagued by doubts about where the money will go. Guinea came close to the bottom of a 2008 corruption survey by watchdog Transparency International - ranking 173rd out of 180 countries. Somalia was the only African country to score worse.