Mauritius: riots against the rising cost of living, 13 police officers injured
At Camp Levieux, the main focus of tension since the start of the clashes, the police called in special forces to contain the demonstrators.
Photo taken on April 22, 2022. © Abdoollah Earally/RFI
Text by: RFI Follow
2 mins
Since Thursday, April 21, Mauritius has been facing a violent rebellion from residents of several neighborhoods, revolted against rising prices and police repression deemed excessive at the start.
Three rioters were arrested, a man was shot and wounded, and 13 police officers required urgent treatment after clashes.
Calm returned on Saturday evening, but the police are on the alert.
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With our correspondent in Port-Louis
,
Abdoollah Earally
Disturbances broke out in 9 localities of the country during two long nights of tension.
The slingshot was observed mainly in urban areas in the form of clashes with the police, ransacking of public property, including surveillance cameras, road installations, as well as fires on public roads.
Police say their offices and vehicles were attacked with Molotov cocktails.
The spark left on Thursday in the town of Rose-Hill, with a spontaneous demonstration in the working-class district of Camp Levieux, against rising prices, after a 30% increase for household gas and 25% for fuel.
The police suppressed this first demonstration with the forceful arrest of an activist.
This repression deemed excessive was the trigger for the violence which turned into clashes with the police for two nights.
Great resources were deployed during the second night, Friday, to contain an intensification of violence in Camp Levieux and a contagion in 8 other localities.
The tension subsided on Saturday afternoon.
The police remain on high alert.
In an attempt to defuse social tension, the former President of the Republic, Cassam Uteem, a moral authority on the island, called for dialogue and calm.
Opposition members took turns Saturday evening to call on demonstrators to curb the violence.
The current President of the Republic, Prithvirajsing Roopun, for his part intervened on national television to say that “
the population is going through very difficult times
” and insisted on “
solutions around a table
”.
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