00:01Blocked roads and a heavy police presence.
00:05Tensions erupted near Sheikh Antadiop University and other higher education institutions
00:10in the Senegalese capital, Dakar, on Friday.
00:13Students started protesting over the decision to close all university canteens after dinner on the same day.
00:21This was justified by acts of sabotage in these establishments,
00:25according to De Cruz, the regional body in charge of services such as canteens.
00:30The acts of sabotage referred to students refusing to pay for their meal tickets
00:35in protest over late payments of their stipends.
00:39Some students claim they haven't received their government stipend money in over a year.
00:44Tensions over financial aid already led to clashes between students and police forces in early December.
00:51Student associations said that they had attempted to hold peaceful demonstrations for months,
00:56but were ignored by authorities.
00:59The latest decision to close all university canteens has also sparked political reactions,
01:04in support of the students.
01:06Some parliamentaries said that the government wanted to deprive students of meals that,
01:11for some of them, were the only adequate food they could get.
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