By Abdou Moustoifa
MORONI, May 16 - Comoros announced the temporary suspension on Saturday of new fuel prices introduced in response to the Iran war, backing down after the hikes prompted demonstrations and deadly clashes across the East African archipelago.
The announcement came after one person was killed and five injured in confrontations between protesters and security forces on the island of Anjouan.
“The government and President Azali (Assoumani) heard the cries of the Comorian people. There was no other solution than to listen to them. The goal is to preserve peace,” Energy Minister Aboubacar Saïd Anli said at a press conference.
He said Azali suspended the decrees related to the fuel price hike, which were introduced on May 9, to allow for talks on the matter.
Clashes broke out on Friday following a meeting between the mayor of the Anjouan island town of Mirontsy and the fishermen’s association, which has been on strike since Wednesday in protest against rising fuel prices.
Roads were also blocked with stones in Mutsamudu, Anjouan’s capital. A judicial investigation has now been opened to determine the circumstances of the person’s death, which occurred near Mpage.
The unrest followed a broader strike that began on Monday after the government raised diesel prices by 46% and gasoline prices by 35%, citing the global oil price surge caused by the war in the Middle East.
Transport workers and shopkeepers had paralysed public transportation in the national capital Moroni, and 39 people have been detained, according to the National Human Rights Commission.
The president of the transport workers’ union and the head of the merchants’ union announced the end of the strike on Saturday.
(Reporting by Abdou Moustoifa, writing by Colleen Goko; Editing by Kirsten Donovan and Joe Bavier)
