Students detained after clashes in Mauritania

Mauritanian police dispersed students during a demonstration held in front of the Institute for Islamic Studies and Research on Wednesday. Protesters raised a banner which read “Students’ Day of Rage” in Nouakchott, calling for the Institute to be opened and expressing their rejection to the solutions presented by Mauritanian Islamic Affairs Minister Ahmad Ould Neini. Clashes between students and riot police resulted in the injury of a number of students and the detention of members of the Mauritanian students union. Police used teargas and batons to disperse protesters, whereas riot police were stationed near the Institute and around the roads leading to it, in an attempt to keep the situation under control and prevent students from staging a sit-in. Skirmishes were still going on in the afternoon in front of the Institute, while students set car tyres and trash on fire in nearby streets in order to paralyse security forces. “Security detained six students, including the deputy head of the Mauritanian Student’s National Union,” a student source near the Institute told ‘Arabstoday.’ The students decided to take to the streets on their “day of rage” until authorities reverse their decision. Sources stated that security elements ran out of teargas, which prompted police to provide them with extra supply to use against protesters.