8 Students, Journalist Reportedly Killed

Police opened fire on a student demonstration, reportedly killing at least nine people, including a journalist, in Banjul, the capital of Gambia. The Gambia Students Union was denied a permit for the march organized to protest the recent death of a high school student, who was allegedly tortured by security force members, and the reported rape of a 13-year-old girl by a police officer. When students gathered at the gate of the Gambia Technical Training Institute to march to the city center, police ordered them to disperse, then opened fire with tear gas and rubber bullets. The students scattered but later regrouped. Government buildings were attacked, a police station set on fire and stores looted as unemployed youths joined in the fray. Police apparently used live ammunition to restore order. Omar Barrow, a journalist with the private Syd FM radio station, was among those killed, witnesses said.