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Saturday, February 8, 2014

Violent protests rock Bosnia

Demonstrators in Bosnia-Hercegovina have set fire to government
buildings, in the worst unrest since the end of the 1992-95 war.

Hundreds of people have been injured in three days of protests over
high unemployment and perceived inability of politicians to improve
the situation.

Police used rubber bullets and tear gas to quell unrest in the capital
Sarajevo and the northern town of Tuzla.
Black smoke could be seen coming from the presidency building in Sarajevo.

In Bosnia the legacies of the war mean that few even hope for change
anymore. For this reason, anger has been simmering for years, but now
it has boiled over"
Sarajevo-based newspaper Dnevni Avaz says police used water to
disperse the protesters who were throwing stones at the building.
There were also reports of an attempted storming of the office.

The fire brigade are unable to reach the burning building, the paper
reports. A total of 13 fire service teams have been deployed.
On Thursday, clashes between police and demonstrators in Tuzla injured
more than 130 people, mostly police officers.

"People protest because they are hungry, because they don't have jobs.
We demand the government resign," Nihad Karac, a construction worker,
told the AFP.

About 40% of Bosnians are unemployed.
The unrest began in Tuzla earlier in the week, with protests over the
closure and sale of factories which had employed most of the local
population.

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