Senegal: Protests banned

Senegal banned political rallies in the centre of the capital Dakar on Thursday 21 July, two days before a planned protest against President Abdoulaye Wade seeking a new term in 2012 elections. The move forced organisers of the march to reschedule it to a location outside the centre of town, where they had been planning to demonstrate close to Wade's presidential palace. A pro-Wade rally is due to take place in a separate suburb of the sprawling coastal capital. The Interior Ministry said the ban was needed on grounds of security.