Fights and crowd movements marked rapper Niska’s concert on Saturday night in Mamoudzou, Mayotte, an island frequently rocked by violence, before degenerating into riots, causing a dozen minor injuries, AFP learned from a police source.
Some 8,000 spectators gathered in a town square to attend the concert by the musician adored by a large part of the island’s youth, where almost half of the population is a minor. Some 2,000 remained outside the security perimeter established around the place.
In the middle of the concert, a fight broke out among the public and provoked crowd movements that resulted in a dozen minor injuries. Some spectators were targeted by stones thrown by groups that came to fight.
“Used to things degenerating very quickly, people were very scared and it created a huge crowd movement, it spread like a wave, from the center outwards, from all sides,” explained Laurent Simonin, territorial director of the police. national in Mayotte. .
Almost two hours of fighting
“I really thought I was going to die,” testified Eïcha, 17, who came with her high school friends. A hail of tear gas shells rained down on the crowd that dispersed to flee, take shelter or, in some cases, set up barricades and set them on fire.
A dozen cars were vandalized and street furniture went up in smoke. At least 10 roadblocks were erected by groups of 20 to 40 people who threw stones and concrete bars at the police. After almost two hours of clashes, two people were arrested.
One count of attempted murder
Six other people were arrested in the early afternoon near the concert, including four armed with knives and brass knuckles, and one is implicated in an attempted murder, according to Laurent Simonin. Three young men were also found in possession of Molotov cocktails.
Mayotte, an archipelago in the Indian Ocean, is regularly rocked by outbreaks of violence between rival gangs or against the police, when they intervene to put an end to it.
In February, exasperated residents blocked access to their neighborhood for several days and tried to block traffic routes. In 2021, the Mamoudzou public prosecutor’s office recorded a 25% increase in referrals for criminal acts in Mayotte and 21% for misdemeanors.
Source: BFM TV
