Fuel price hikes spark protests in Central African Republic

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Hundreds of people have demonstrated in Bangui, the capital of the Central African Republic, against fuel price hikes that have increased living costs. Read More:…

Hundreds of people demonstrated in the capital of the Central African Republic on Friday against fuel price hikes and demanded the release of organisers of a previous day of protest.

The country is one of the poorest in the world and has seen higher prices at the pump since the start of last month.

Demonstrators in Bangui carried placards with slogans reading “A hungry belly has no ears” and “We are all equal in the face of the high cost of living,” AFP journalists saw.

The price 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.

“Transportation is costing me almost more than my house,” Stephane, a 31-year-old demonstrator, who declined to give his full name, told AFP.

“Today this is only a warning to the government, but let it be clear that the people have had enough. Next time, there will be more of us out on the streets,” he warned.

The rally gathered motorcycle taxi drivers, vendors, residents, civil society and members of the Republican Bloc for the Defence of the Constitution, an opposition coalition, which called the demonstration.

The BRDC had also called a shutdown of Bangui on October 12, which led to the arrests of five organisers from civil society groups who are still in detention.

“Resistant Central Africans”, chanted demonstrators on Friday, who also sang: “Gas is expensive, everything is expensive, free our leaders.”

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