April 10, 2000
OUAGADOUGOU, Burkina Faso (PANA) - The 72-hour strike by a group of mass organisations and opposition parties got a boost Monday when hundreds of pupils and students staged violent demonstrations in Ouagadougou.
The protestors erected barricades and burnt tyres on Charles De Gaulle Avenue leading to Ouagadougou University and assaulted motorists trying to force their way through road blocks.
The students ransacked several cars and destroyed traffic lights and pulled down sign posts, newspaper stands and overturned stalls.
Students at Philippe Zinda Kabore High School demolished a portion of the school fence and hurled missiles at passing state-owned cars.
Their colleagues at Marien N'Gouabi High School assaulted security forces who used tear-gases to disperse the irate youths.
However, the situation had calmed down slightly by late Monday afternoon, although most secondary and higher education institutions remained closed.
The strike was observed in several public offices, particularly in hospitals.
It was called to protest against the hurling of tear gas canisters security forces against participants in Saturday's march against perceived government impunity.