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| Source - Olympia DE MAISMONT |
By Abdou Moustoifa Reuters
In Comoros, they made a new rule that says everyone must stay inside at night. This happened because there were big and violent protests against the leader, President Azali Assoumani, who got elected again. The government decided to take action to control the situation. President Assoumani won the election, and now he will be the leader for more five years. To control protests, the army used tear gas on the people in the capital city, Moroni, on Wednesday. Even in Thursday, there still people on the streets in the northern part of the capital. Because of these protests the government announced a curfew on Wednesday. This means everyone has to stay indoors at night. A person from the government, Houmed Msaidie, said that the protests happened because people who supported other candidates, the ones who didn't win, were upset. He told Reuters, a news agency, that these things happen when people feel defeated and are fighting for what they want. The government also arrested several protesters to maintain order. People who didn't want President Assoumani to win are saying that the election was not fair. They claim there was cheating, like putting extra votes and stopping the voting before it was supposed to end. However the government denies these accusations. President Assoumani has been in charge since he took power in 1999 in a coup. In the last election he got almost 63% votes. Comoros is a country with about 800,000 people, and it has experienced about 20 times when the leader was changed by force or someone tried to do it since gaining independence from France in 1975. People from Comoros often go to the nearby French island of Mayotte illegally. The United Nations (UN), which is a group of countries working together, is asking everyone to stay calm. They are also telling the leaders in Comoros to be careful and not be too forceful in dealing with the protests.
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