protests - The African Mirror

Jun

2021

Tunisia: Protests against police spreads

PROTESTS that erupted more than a week against police abuse in Sejoumi neighbourhood of Tunisia's capital spread to other poor neighbourhoods late yesterday. The protesters gathered in Ettadhamen and Intilaka neighborhoods, blocked roads, burned tires and threw stones at police, as officers chased demonstrators and unleashed tear gas, a Reuters reporter at the scene said. Protests escalated last week after a video circulated online showed police stripping and beating a young man, triggering widespread anger among the public. On Tuesday, hundreds gathered in Sijoumi, raising slogans against the government and calling on officials to stop police abuse and punish those…

Jun

2021

By The African Mirror

Nigerian police fire teargas to break up protests

NEWS

SEUN SANNI and AFOLABI SOTUNDE POLICE fired teargas and detained several demonstrators in the Nigerian cities of Lagos and Abuja on Saturday during protests over the country's worsening security situation. Anger over mass kidnappings-for-ransom, a decade-long Islamist insurgency and a crackdown on protesters in Lagos last October has fuelled demands for the government of President Muhammadu Buhari to do more to tackle violence and insecurity. There was a heavy police presence in the country's two major cities as several hundred people gathered to protest on Democracy Day, which marks Nigeria's move to civilian rule more than 20 years ago. Reuters…

Mar

2021

By The African Mirror

Senegal leader calls for more protests

NEWS

DIADIE BA SENEGAL opposition leader Ousmane Sonko has called for more protests against President Macky Sall after being indicted and released on bail over a rape charge that has sparked violent unrest across the country. Sonko's release was cheered by participants in the protests that have buffeted one of West Africa's most stable democracies in the past week, leaving at least eight dead in clashes with police, according to rights group Amnesty International. After being freed, Sonko asked supporters to continue demonstrations, but emphasised they should be peaceful. "We are not asking the people to go and unseat Macky Sall,"…

Feb

2021

By The African Mirror

Protests rock Myanmar for fifth day, West condemns security response

WORLD

PROTESTE took to the streets of Myanmar for a fifth day today, vowing to keep up demonstrations against last week's military coup even after a woman was shot and critically wounded during clashes the previous day. The United States and United Nations condemned yesterday's use of force against the protesters who are demanding the reversal of the February 1 coup and the release of deposed leader Aung San Suu Kyi, and other leaders of her National League for Democracy (NLD). "We cannot stay quiet," youth leader Esther Ze Naw told Reuters. "If there is blood shed during our peaceful protests,…

Feb

2021

By The African Mirror

Protests sweep Myanmar to oppose coup, support Suu Kyi

WORLD

TENS of thousands of people rallied across Myanmar yesterday to denounce last week's coup and demand the release of elected leader Aung San Suu Kyi, in the biggest protests since the 2007 Saffron Revolution that helped lead to democratic reforms. In a second day of widespread protests, crowds in the biggest city, Yangon, sported red shirts, red flags and red balloons, the colour of Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy Party (NLD). "We don't want military dictatorship! We want democracy!" they chanted. Yesterday afternoon, the junta ended a day-long blockade of the internet that had further inflamed anger since the…

Dec

2020

By The African Mirror

India’s multi-billion-dollar food programme is at the heart of farmers’ protests

WORLD

MAYANK BHARDWAJ THOUSANDS of Indian farmers angered by farm laws that they say threaten their livelihoods have intensified their protests by blocking highways and camping out on the outskirts of the capital Delhi. The government of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and leaders of protesting farmers' unions have held several rounds of talks but have not made any progress in breaking the deadlock over the set of laws passed by parliament in September. Although various farmer unions have supported the protest, the agitation is largely led by the growers of relatively well-off states of Punjab and Haryana in India's north. Every…

Nov

2020

By The African Mirror

Nigerian workers protest over pay at Africa’s largest oil refinery near Lagos

NEWS

NIGERIAN workers have demonstrated over pay issues outside the site of what will be Africa's largest oil refinery, the owner Dangote Industries Ltd said, at a time of heightened tensions in the country over police brutality. In its statement, Dangote said the protesters were not company employees but subcontractors locked in a pay dispute with their employers. "The situation is under control as we are mediating with the parties involved," said the statement, which gave no further information. Twitter posts showed several dozen people gathered at what appeared to be the site of the planned refinery and said the protesters…

Oct

2020

By The African Mirror

NIGERIA BURNS

NEWS

NIGERIA’S biggest city Lagos and several states were under curfews as unrest rooted in anti-police protests broke out again following a day of violence, including the shooting of civilians by security forces. Fires burned across Lagos and residents reported hearing gunfire despite President Muhammadu Buhari's appeal for "understanding and calm". Armed police tried to enforce a round-the-clock curfew in the commercial capital, setting up checkpoints. But groups of young men blocked a number of major roads with overturned traffic signs, tree branches and rocks. Smoke billowed from buildings that were ablaze. Video verified by Reuters showed armed police in the…

Oct

2020

By The African Mirror

South Africa’s COSATU leads union protests over coronavirus impact

NEWS

ALEXANDER WINNING SOUTH Africa's biggest trade union group, COSATU, has led nationwide protests against job losses, wage curbs and corruption cases, in an outpouring of anger at how workers have been treated during the coronavirus crisis. The union federation organised motorcades, pickets and marches in the country's nine provinces, although it was not clear how many of its more than 1 million members heeded a call to stay away from work. Labour unrest regularly affects companies in sectors like mining during negotiations over wages, but it is much rarer for COSATU, typically an ally of the governing African National Congress…

Sep

2020

By The African Mirror

Several hundred arrests amid protest calls in Egypt – rights group

NEWS

Egyptian authorities have detained at least 382 people since September 20 amid reports of small, scattered demonstrations against President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, a rights group has said. The interior ministry could not be reached for comment. The arrests come after security measures were tightened around the first anniversary of rare demonstrations in Cairo and other cities, triggered by appeals in September last year from an exiled former contractor and actor, Mohamed Ali. Ali, who had posted videos online lambasting the authorities, called for more protests this month. Videos posted on social media since September 20 appeared to show several very…