symbol lookupLogin/Register | Help & Info |
Jump To
YOU ARE HERE: Home > News > World Crises > Article
Sierra Leone taxi bikers riot over slain colleagues
Tue 8 Nov 2005 9:29 AM ET

FREETOWN, Nov 8 (Reuters) - Hundreds of motorcycle taxi drivers rioted in a town in eastern Sierra Leone after two of their colleagues were found dismembered in what appeared to have been a ritual killing, local officials said on Tuesday.

Police armed with rifles fired teargas to disperse the rioters as they destroyed cars and attacked government buildings for two straight days in Kenema, a major diamond-trading town in the east, forcing schools and markets to close.

"I understand that two of the motorbike riders were attacked and killed in the early hours of Sunday while they were driving along the highway," Randolph Fillie-Faboe, minister of state for Sierra Leone's eastern region, told Reuters by telephone.

He said the police found organs were missing from the two dead bodies and were investigating the deaths. But the victims' colleagues were angry that no arrests had been made.

"About two hundred motorbike riders started attacking the police which led to the rampage that brought the entire town to a standstill for nearly two days," Fillie-Faboe said.

Riot police brought the situation under control on Tuesday and schools and shops had been told to reopen, although local residents said the town was still tense with armed police patrolling the streets.

Ritual killings are an age-old practice in parts of Africa. Believers offer up body parts such as genital organs to local deities to seek wealth, power or professional success.

© Reuters 2005. All Rights Reserved.
More West African wars News
Guinean army arrest 100 after ethnic clashes
Guinean army arrest 20 after ethnic clashes

Reuters.com Help & Info | Contact Us | Feedback | Advertise | Disclaimer | Copyright | Privacy | Corrections | Partner Newspapers
About Us | Products & Services | Customer Zone | Careers