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"The voices which demand a change in this regime, who are concerned that it should take place in a climate of peace and free debate, are many."
Since early January, numerous protests and riots have occurred across the country over poverty, unemployment, and rising food and energy prices.
Protests in Djibouti
They've also spread to Djibouti in the strategically located Horn of Africa area. Around 30,000 protested in Djibouti City, the capital, against President Ismail Omar Guelleh. Earlier demonstrations were much smaller. This one presents greater challenges. Though peaceful, police attacked protesters with tear gas and batons, resulting in at least four deaths and dozens of injuries.
On February 17, opposition leader Ismael Guedi Hared said, "We are protesting against dictatorship, bad governance, lack of democracy and dynastic succession." Also at issue is poverty, unemployment, and malnutrition affecting thousands of families, especially in the poor Balbala neighborhood, home for 200,000 people.
Earlier, Hared was briefly arrested, then released, but reports confirm that 20 opposition Union for a Democratic Alternative members were arrested and about 15 Movement for Democratic Renewal ones.
AFP said Djibouti City protesters held banners reading "IOG (Guelleh's initials) out" and "No third mandate," meaning after two six-year terms, they've had enough and want his dictatorship ended.
Djibouti is home to Camp Lemonnier, one of many Pentagon bases in the region. Located strategically on the Bab-el-Mandeb strait through which three millions barrels of oil pass daily, it's a key regional chokepoint to keep open.
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