By Fatou Camara
Police fired teargas at a crowd that gathered in Salagi on Tuesday as officials of the department of physical planning tore down structures they say were built on government reserve land.
The people of Sukuta have in recent weeks been protesting against a plan by the department of physical planning to demolish structures it says fall within government reserve land in Salagi. The people who have been building houses on the land, claim the land belongs to them.
Physical planning officials however stormed the area on Tuesday and began tearing down structures – as police fired teargas at angry locals.
Police spokesman Lamin Njie (not the author of this story) told The Fatu Network: “Some people came and said they [physical planning officials] cannot continue with the exercise.
“The police really engaged them to allow these people to go ahead with their exercise while they can also take whatever action they could later, they failed to do this and the police had to use reasonable force to disperse them which was done by way of firing teargas.”
The Fatu Network understands a number of locals have been arrested and have been detained at Brusubi Police Station.
