Central African Republic Detains Fuel Protest Organisers
Five officials of civil society organisations, who called for a shutdown of the capital Bangui on October 12, were arrested on Thursday and have since been detained.
Recommended For YouThe Central African Republic, one of the poorest countries in the world, has seen higher prices at the pump since the start of the month.
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The increase, which was introduced by the government, has led to higher transport and food costs on top of shortages already caused by security and logistics problems.
The protest day a week ago saw less traffic on the roads and some classes and businesses closed.
Interior Minister Bienvenu Zokoue said in a statement on Sunday that the country faced an "attempt to destabilise the institutions of the republic disguised as a shutdown operation in the city".
He said the alleged leaders had "a close link" to two opposition parties and that the detentions were aimed at preventing new actions that could paralyse institutions.
Families of those detained and other civil society groups have demanded their release and threatened to resume protests.
"I demand that their fundamental rights be respected and that they be released immediately," the wife of Quentin Ngouando, head of one of the organising civil society groups, told AFP.
"Expressing the suffering of the people is not a crime," she added.
President Faustin-Archange Touadera has said that high prices on oil markets mean the government can no longer subsidise oil.
"Since market prices are high, today we need to pursue a fair pricing policy to enable the state to properly pay salaries and meet its other obligations," Touadera said in a radio interview earlier this month.
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