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Rioting vendors stop traffic on EN1 in Gaza: One shot and injured
2:36 CAT | 11 Jul 2017
O País
The village of Macia, in the Bilene district of Gaza province, was the scene of uproar and destruction on Monday morning (July 10) as a result of a riot by informal vendors who refused to vacate their regular pitches along the road.
Informal vendors are contesting the removal of their shops and stalls from the verges of the EN1, where for several years they have plied their trade under the serene and complicit gaze of the authorities, A Verdade reports.
The chaos they generated was such that they stopped traffic on the EN1 from 9.00 a.m. to noon yesterday, closing the road with burning tires, boulders, tree trunks and other obstacles.
No vehicles were travelling the section between Bilene crossing and Chókwè beach, with motorists forced to find alternative ways to reach their destinations.
The mayor of Macia municipality, Reginaldo Marquele, tried to talk to the vendors but was booed, according to one of the protesters, who claimed that the municipality charged as much as 5,000 meticais for a stall in the Macia central market.
The Police of the Republic of Mozambique (PRM) was called to the protest and fired on the protesters. In the pandemonium, one person was injured in the left arm, allegedly while attempting to invade the police station.
The victim was under medical care at the time of going to press. Several other protesters were arrested, but police authorities did not specify the number of detainees.
The windows of the Vila da Macia Municipal Council building took the brunt of the vendor’s fury, most of them being smashed.
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