By Saliou Samb

CONAKRY, May 16 (Reuters) - Violent pay protests by soldiers across Guinea this month betray the weakness of President Lansana Conte's hold on power and add to pressure on the veteran leader to consider bowing out.

Mutinous soldiers from the rank and file have fired wildly into the air in the protests, sending bullets raining down on the homes of terrified civilians. They have also looted arms and food stores as they demand better working conditions.

The unrest, in which at least 10 people have been killed by stray bullets, comes after nationwide strikes in January and February led by unions who called for Conte, a reclusive diabetic in his 70s, to step aside.

A brutal crackdown on those protests left more than 130 people dead in Guinea, the world's largest exporter of bauxite.

"His regime is pretty much over. It is just a question of time," said Omaru Sisay, deputy head of the Africa department at research group Exclusive Analysis.

"I think he has realised that if he does not go (in a negotiated handover of power) he will be forced out, if not by civil action then by military action," he told Reuters.

The protests by mostly young soldiers -- angered by the luxurious living standards of their senior officers, many of them Conte loyalists -- forced the president to replace his defence minister and some army commanders on Saturday.

At least 60 soldiers were arrested after looting during the weekend protests, police sources say.

The military has been the guarantor of Conte's rule since he seized power in a 1984 coup and the shake-up, which included the dismissal of army chief of staff and presidential ally Kerfala Camara, has left him more isolated than ever, analysts say.

Although the disgruntled soldiers' immediate demands are for better pay rather than Conte's removal, diplomats and analysts say his loss of influence over large parts of the military makes his position untenable in the longer term.

SAVING FACE

An ailing chain-smoker, Conte had already been weakened by the strikes at the start of the year, which forced him to name a consensus prime minister, Lansana Kouyate, to head the government, a role he had previously assumed.

"The arrival of the new prime minister has raised a lot of hope, above all the hope of a non-violent, peaceful transition," African Union Commission chief Alpha Oumar Konare said.

"I strongly hope the president of the republic will understand that his ultimate mission today is to help create the conditions for the post-Conte period," he told French radio in comments broadcast on Wednesday.

Diplomats hope Kouyate will be able to persuade Conte to save face by handing over power to an interim government rather than being forced out by civil or military unrest.

The powerful unions, who were instrumental in negotiating Kouyate's appointment, are expected to give the new premier time to work on planning the transition but he may have a harder task containing frustrations within the military.

"Some of the military demands were vague but as long as no real response to them is found, there will be no lasting solution," said Guinean political commentator Madani Dia.

Conte's ruling party is expected to take a drubbing in parliamentary elections, originally due in June but now delayed. Some say that could be the nail in his coffin.

"If a new parliament comes in and he has still not indicated the method by which he can leave I think parliament would come up with some way of forcing him out," Sisay said.

"If that fails the unions will bring people out again." (Additional reporting by Nick Tattersall in Dakar)

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