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| Africa North |
| A jobless young man tried to set himself on fire in Algiers |
| 2011-02-07 |
| [Ennahar] A young man, unemployed, tried to set himself on fire Sunday morning during a demonstration of unemployed before the Algerian Ministry of Labour, a witness told AFP. "A young unemployed doused himself with petrol and tried to set fire, but the protesters managed to stop him," told AFP Menadi Amine, a founding member of "Pacifique Algérie" a "an independent Youth Group" created on Facebook in the wake of riots that rocked the country in early January. Some 150 unemployed people gathered in the morning outside the headquarters of the Ministry of Labour to lay a platform of demands," said Menadi. This action, which drew national coordination for the rights of unemployed people, aimed in particular to denounce "the illegal practices of certain public and private companies and multinationals and low salaries." Riots against high prices have left five people dead, over 800 injured and extensive damage in early January. Since then, at least nine Algerians tried to set themselves on fire and three are dead, like the gesture of the young Tunisian who, on December 17, sparked protest in the neighboring country. |
| Posted by:Fred |