Island rocked by anti-immigrant protests
Publish date: 19 March 2018
Issue Number: 766
Diary: IBA Legalbrief Africa
Category: Corruption
A group of residents from the Indian Ocean French island of Mayotte has been rounding up suspected illegal migrants and taking them to local police. The move targeted around 100 ‘foreigners, Comorans and Africans’. BBC News reports that protests have paralysed the island. Mayotte has been in turmoil since mid-February, with roadblocks, a general strike and protests. The report notes that violent clashes between rival gangs at a school sparked anger over spiralling crime which many residents blame on migrants from the non-French Comoran islands.
