Senegal U-turn after hawkers riot

Police used tear gas and truncheons to disperse the rioters

The Senegalese authorities have reversed their policy of banning street vendors from the capital, Dakar, after two days of riots.

They have been allowed to return to the streets until the end of the year "as long as they do not obstruct traffic".

President Abdoulaye Wade had said there would be no about-turn on this policy, which he announced earlier this month.

About 200 people were arrested in some of the biggest riots seen in Dakar for several years.

Hawkers will be allowed to stay on the streets until after the holiday season, which includes the Muslim festival of Eid-el-Adha - due this year on 20 December - as well as Christmas and New Year.

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

Earlier, the mayor had said that hawkers would be allowed to stay in some areas of the city.

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.