VIOLENT PROTESTS OVER POWER SHORTAGES

There were reports of violent protests overnight on 2-3 September 2009 in Dakar, the capital, as demonstrators took to the streets to protest ongoing power shortages in the country. Protesters stormed a courthouse in the Pikine neighbourhood, and angry mobs set up street barricades with burning trash and tires. Similar incidents occurred over the two previous nights. Demonstrators are demanding that the government address the ongoing power shortages during the current Ramadan holidays, when much of the population in the majority-Muslim country fasts from sun-up to sundown, and there is more activity that usual during the night hours. Government officials have stated that the lack of funds has created the current power shortages that are forcing blackouts in the country.