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Police in Mauritius imposed an overnight curfew overnight to quell the worst riots to break out on the Indian Ocean island in decades.<\/b><\/p>\n
Peaceful protests over water shortages and the high cost of living that started a week ago erupted into violence on Friday when a woman was shot and wounded by police at a roadblock.<\/p>\n
The circumstances of the shooting are not clear, but the officer has since been arrested and remanded in custody.<\/p>\n
Prime Minister Navin Ramgoolam ordered the curfew on Tuesday, warning against those “acting against the interests of the country”, which is a tourism and financial services hub.<\/p>\n
“Those who have carried out these actions will have to face the very heavy consequences warranted by their anti-patriotic acts,” he said in an address to the nation.<\/p>\n
Protesters burned tyres and blocked \u200croads as the unrest escalated over the weekend, with police stations and other public infrastructure properties being vandalised.<\/p>\n
The mayhem prompted the closure of schools and public transport, with foreign embassies issuing alerts warning its nationals to be cautious.<\/p>\n
Despite the curfew, police said there had been several incidents overnight and some arrests.<\/p>\n
But the police assured people that by Wednesday morning traffic was again moving throughout the island and said people should resume their normal activities.<\/p>\n
When protests over the shortage of water initially started, the government had responded proactively by providing more water to households, according to Zo\u00eb McCathie, an analyst at South Africa-based Signal Risk.<\/p>\n
The escalation had presented a more “unusual situation for the country’s security situation”, with the government resorting to closing schools and imposing a curfew, she told the BBC’s Newsday programme.<\/p>\n
“Protests to this scale and to this extent haven’t been seen\u2026 since around 1999. So the government’s response to this in that case is logical and is necessary,” she said.<\/p>\n
While the government had managed to “curtail the worst of the unrest” there was still a possibility that protests could return in some areas, with water shortages expected to persist until the rainy season in December, she said.<\/p>\n
The cabinet is due to meet on Wednesday afternoon to reassess the situation and decide on the next steps.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n