Several hundred protesters who gathered on Thursday to demand "justice" at the end of the burial of a civil society activist in Guinea-Bissau found dead on Tuesday were dispersed by police in the capital Bissau, an AFP correspondent reported.

A spontaneous demonstration, which brought together many young people, took shape after the burial in Bissau at midday of Vigario Luis Balanta, coordinator of the "Po di Terra" movement, who was considered a critical voice of the junta in power in that country.

The 35-year-old activist was found dead on Tuesday in the rice paddies of Ndam Lero, about thirty kilometers from the capital, his body being "covered in blood" and "wounded all over with a bladed weapon" but also with "two bullet holes in the head", according to statements from a witness to AFP.

His death was announced on Wednesday by the Guinea-Bissau League for Human Rights (LGDH), which denounced it as an "assassination".

On Thursday, protesters, some of whom wore T-shirts bearing a picture of the activist, organized a march from the cemetery in the Antula district, on the southern outskirts of Bissau.

"We made the decision to organize a march right after our comrade's funeral (...) to demand that justice be done," a "Po di Terra" official told AFP on condition of anonymity.

"Let's stand up to save our country from military drift," the protesters chanted.

Protesters also set fire to tires and furniture on the road, blocking traffic.

The police, who were deployed in several districts in the south and southwest of the capital, intervened to disperse them with batons and tear gas.

At least a dozen protesters were arrested.

On Thursday, the spokesman for the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Seif Magango, said he was "shocked" by the "brutal murder" of Mr. Balanta.

"We are shocked by the brutal murder of civil society activist Vigario Luis Balanta," who was "apparently beaten to death," the spokesman said in a statement, urging authorities to conduct a "thorough and impartial" investigation.

Guinea-Bissau has been ruled since November 26, the day before the expected announcement of the provisional results of the presidential and legislative elections in the country, by military officers who overthrew outgoing President Umaro Sissoco Embalo and suspended the electoral process.

AFP