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afrol.com, 7 November - Six people were shot and at least 16 people were wounded in demonstrations this weekend against crime in the Sierra Leonean capital, Freetown, news reports said. UN peacekeepers did not fire their weapons, the UN Mission stated. The demonstrations started on Saturday when residents accused the police of being behind armed robberies that occur after curfew. The protest erupted after robbers raided a house and police were slow to respond, IRIN reported. The police had arrived on the robbery scene some two and half hours after the crime had been reported. According to residents of the area, it was the fourth case of armed robbery or attempted armed robbery in as many days. Residents observing the armed robbery immediately called both the police and UN troops, but no help was made available. The protesters erected barricades in the central area of Kissy Road, where they clashed with police. The police, in turn, fired teargas to disperse the crowd. Next morning, on Sunday, Nigerian UN peacekeepers and Sierra Leonean soldiers were called in to quell the continuing violent demonstration in Freetown, when 800-1000 residents threw stones at police officers. The residents maintained that the police had failed to respond promptly to the report of a robbery, a UN spokesman said. UN personnel was set to remove the roadblocks. Each time they did, however, the youths replaced them, amid columns of smoke of burning tires snaking toward the cloud, SLENA reported from Freetown. In response to a question on the participation of UN troops in the disturbance, a UN spokesman said that the peacekeepers were only trying to restore order. However, the UN peacekeepers did not fire their weapons, the UN Mission spokesman assured. The clashes had been between residents and local police. In answer to a question on the number of casualties, the UN spokesman said that "not all of those injured suffered from bullet wounds." As the clashes had been chaotic, it was believed that many stones meant for the police could have hit other demonstrators. The Sierra Leonean News agency reported that "Freetown was a dead city for the early hours of yesterday," and compared the sight to January 1999, when RUF terrorists invaded the town. Source: Based on UN sources
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