tear gas - The African Mirror

Sep

2021

Police beat journalist, fire tear gas during Congo election protest

POLICE beat a journalist and fired tear gas to disperse a small crowd in Democratic Republic of Congo's capital Kinshasa during an opposition protest over alleged election meddling, eyewitnesses said. Around 20 protesters gathered in response to a call by opposition leader Martin Fayulu and were met with stiff resistance from police. Police beat and temporarily detained Patient Ligodi, a journalist working for Radio France International, while he was interviewing Fayulu. "They threw me to the ground and started to hit me," Ligodi said in a video shared on social media. Video shot by broadcaster France 24 showed Ligodi being…

Jun

2021

By The African Mirror

Cameroon police tear gas residents

NEWS

POLICE in Cameroon fired tear gas yesterday as they clashed with residents fighting eviction from a neighbourhood adjacent to Newton Airport in the country's economic capital Douala. An official said inhabitants of the informal settlement, known locally as Fret Aeroport, were illegally occupying government land and that they would not be compensated. Some residents, many of whom have lived next to the airport for decades despite repeated attempts by the authorities to move them, said they were given less than two days to move out. "This is airport land, the airport has its land title here, and these populations have…

May

2021

By The African Mirror

Chadian police clash with protesters

NEWS

CHADIAN security forces used tear gas and batons to disperse protesters who took to the streets of the capital N'Djamena yesterday to denounce a military takeover following the battlefield death of President Idriss Deby. Small groups of protesters burned tyres and French flags, and some clashed violently with police, a Reuters reporter at the scene said. About 30 people were arrested, according to civil society coalition Wakit Tamma. Police spokesman Amane Issac Azina confirmed that there were arrests and "vandalism", but did not give a number. Deby's death during fighting with northern rebels last month caused chaos in Chad, a…

Mar

2021

By The African Mirror

Tunisian police fire tear gas on protesters in southern city

NEWS

TUNISIAN police fired tear gas on protesters yesterday after hundreds tried to storm a government headquarters in the southern city of Tataouine to protest against the government's failure to provide jobs, witnesses said. Protesters are calling on the government to implement a 2017 deal to create jobs in oil companies and infrastructure projects to reduce unemployment now running at 30% in the region, one of the highest rates in Tunisia. The protests increase pressure on the government, which is suffering a political crisis from a power struggle between Prime Minister Hichem Mechichi and President Kais Saied. Tunisia saw violent protests…

Mar

2021

By The African Mirror

Myanmar security forces surround, arrest protesters; U.S. calls for withdrawal

WORLD

MYANMAR security forces fired tear gas and surrounded hundreds of anti-junta protesters at two places in Yangon yesterday, witnesses said, prompting the U.S. Embassy to call for their withdrawal. In New York, the U.N. Security Council failed to agree on a statement that would have condemned the coup in Myanmar, called for restraint by the military and threatened to consider "further measures". Talks on the statement would likely continue, diplomats said, after China, Russia, India and Vietnam all suggested amendments late on Tuesday to a British draft, including removal of the reference to a coup and the threat to consider…

Feb

2021

By The African Mirror

Two killed as Gabon citizens protest coronavirus restrictions

NEWS

TWO people have died after demonstrations in Gabon's two major cities, the prime minister has announced, as anger over restrictions aimed at curbing the spread of COVID-19 spilled over into street stand-offs. On Thursday night security forces fired tear gas and stun grenades in some neighbourhoods in the capital Libreville and Port Gentil to disperse protesters who banged pots and had set up barricades, burning tyres and debris. "Yesterday evening, two of our compatriots died during protests against these protective measures," Prime Minister Rose Christine Ossouka Raponda said in a statement. Gabon restricted travel in and out the capital city…

Feb

2021

By The African Mirror

Chad police confront protesters as Deby nominated for sixth term

NEWS

POLICE in Chad fired tear gas and made several arrests as hundreds protested at President Idriss Deby's nomination yesterday to run for a sixth term in April. Deby, 68, who came to power in the 1990 rebellion, pushed through a new constitution in 2018 that reinstated term limits but would let him stay in power until 2033. His opponents accuse him of trying to create a monarchy. "The people's confidence has a sacred value for me," Deby, who took the title of field marshal last August, said as he accepted the nomination of his Patriotic Salvation Movement (MPS) party. In…

Jan

2021

By The African Mirror

Malian police disperse protest against French military presence

NEWS

MALIAN security forces used tear gas to disperse an unsanctioned protest in the capital Bamako against France's military presence in the country, one of the rally's organisers said. France has more than 5,100 military personnel based in Mali and the West African Sahel region to help counter militants linked to al Qaeda and Islamic State, an involvement that is facing increased opposition at home and in Mali. Malian authorities, who have denounced those opposed to the French military presence, deployed police in riot gear to block around 1,000 protesters from gathering in Bamako's Independence Square, said organiser Adama Diarra. "We…

Nov

2020

By The African Mirror

Ivory Coast police surround opposition leaders’ houses

NEWS

ANGE ABOA POLICE in Ivory Coast surrounded the houses of two of President Alassane Ouattara's main rivals on Tuesday after the government accused them of sedition for creating a parallel administration in defiance of Ouattara's landslide win in Saturday's election. It was not immediately clear if anyone had been arrested. But the moves deepened a bitter standoff over the president's bid for a third term that has cost more than 35 lives since August, including at least five during election day on Saturday. Outside the residence of former president Henri Konan Bedie in the commercial capital Abidjan, officers rolled tear…

Oct

2020

By The African Mirror

Sudanese police fire tear gas to disperse hundreds gathered across the capital

NEWS

SUDANESE security forces fired tear gas to disperse hundreds of people in demonstrations across the capital Khartoum, as crowds gathered to put pressure on the government to improve conditions and push ahead with reform. The rallies came just days after President Donald Trump announced the United States would remove Sudan from its list of state sponsors of terrorism, a designation that dates back to toppled ruler Omar al-Bashir and made it difficult for the transitional government to access urgently needed debt relief and foreign financing. Calls for protests started days earlier, aiming to coincide with the anniversary of the overthrow…