Senegal offer after hawkers riot

Police used tear gas and truncheons to disperse the rioters

The authorities in Senegal's capital, Dakar, have offered concessions to street vendors after violent protests.

Several officials moved swiftly to announce measures, including the provision of market areas and reopening some streets for roadside sales.

Enforcement of a new policy to clear vendors off the streets led to Dakar's biggest riot for years, with protesters throwing stones and burning tyres.

Police reportedly used tear gas again to disperse youths on Thursday.

At least 200 people are said to have been arrested but the police say the situation is now under control, reports the AFP news agency.

Thousands of people earn a living peddling goods on Dakar's streets.

News reports quoted both the Senegalese prime minister and the mayor of Dakar as saying that certain city-centre streets would be opened up at weekends to street vendors.

Minister of Quality of Life and Leisure Maimouna Sourang Ndir is quoted by the Associated Press as saying that the government has promised to move quickly to start building an already-planned market area for street vendors.

But a spokesman for the street vendors, Mbaye Mbengue, told Senegal's Sud FM radio that salesmen who are accustomed to meeting passers-by may refuse to be confined to a single spot.