Gambia bans protests without permits after unrest over power cuts

Gambia’s police chief has announced that no further protests will be allowed in the West African nation without permits, after authorities used tear gas earlier in the week to disperse crowds that had formed to denounce prolonged power cuts during the hottest months of the year.” During the unrest earlier this week, a police post was vandalised and “detainees were unlawfully released from custody”, Touray said, while the national utility, National Water and Electricity Company Ltd (NAWEC), said it had closed three branches after attacks severely damaged buildings, infrastructure and office equipment.“From this very moment, nobody is allowed to protest without an approved permit,” Seedy Mukhtar Touray, Gambia’s inspector general of police, said in a statement late Thursday.