source Reuters news
Up to 10 Killed As Gambian
Students Rampage
Monday, April 10, 2000
BANJUL (Reuters) - Up to 10 people,
including a journalist, were
killed Monday in riots in the Gambian
capital by students protesting
at the alleged torture and murder of a
school pupil by fire fighters,
witnesses said.
The government, which closed schools in
the Banjul area
indefinitely and put its security forces
on alert, declined to confirm
that anyone had died in the clashes
between hundreds of
students and security forces.
A statement released by President Yahya
Jammeh's government
spoke only of casualties.
With reports of the death toll varying,
witnesses told Reuters that
they had seen 10 bodies in the morgue of a
Banjul hospital,
including Omar Barrow, a journalist
working for Senegal's Sud FM
radio station, and students.
Students set tires alight, ransacked
government offices and
burned vehicles, witnesses said. A police
station, post office and
buildings belonging to state television
and the independent
electoral commission were all badly
damaged. Students announced
plans for the demonstration at the
weekend, saying the
government had not responded adequately to
the death of
Ebrahima Barry, a pupil at Forster Senior
Secondary School in
Brikama, 20 miles west of Banjul.
The students allege that Barry died as a
result of torture by fire
fighters.
Police sources say six members of the
Brikama Fire and Ambulance
Services were arrested in March and
charged with Barry's murder.
They were remanded in custody pending a
high court hearing.
By late afternoon, the students had
dispersed and security
services were busy clearing debris,
including burnt tires and
wooden barricades, from the streets of
Banjul.
"The Gambian government accuses the
students under the
direction of the Gambia Students Union of
having perpetrated acts
of vandalism and forcing other students to
come out from their
classes and join them," the government
statement said.
It added the number of casualties and the
extent of the damage
were still being assessed.
"Security forces are on full alert to
ensure the safety of lives and
property. The situation is completely
under control," the
statement said.
The former British colony in West Africa
has a population of just
over 1.2 million.
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