Riots Hit Liberia Capital After Police Kill Motorcyclist

Angry motorcyclists, who run their two-wheelers for hire, went on rioting Thursday near Liberian capital Monrovia after one of their colleagues had reportedly been killed by policemen after riding on a major street in the city, eyewitnesses said.



The motorcyclists burned down several police stations in Paynesville suburb and went on to hunt down anyone wearing the police uniform, the witnesses told The Anadolu Agency.



The rioting broke up after a motorcyclist, whose name has not yet been disclosed, died after he was allegedly beaten to death by a police officer for riding on the major street.



Eyewitnesses told AA that the motorcyclist was hit from behind in the neck by the police officer with a stick.



Liberian authorities have been banning all commercial motorcyclists from riding on the major streets of the city since 2013, permitting only registered private motorcycle owners.



"The motorcyclists were about to kill two police officers right before me. It was God's bless that they managed to run away," Ferlerku Johnson, an eyewitness, told AA.



"The protesters saw the two policemen riding a bike and they started throwing stones at them," he said. "The two men got down and ran away, and the protesters burned the motorbike," he added.



Johnson said he tried to stop the mob from setting the bike ablaze, but his advice went in vain  as the protesters were beginning to suspect him of being a police officer in plain clothes due to his pleads.



The rioting has forced all businesses in Paynesville to close and brought traffic to a standstill.



Riot police are being deployed in the area to bring the situation under control, an AA correspondent reported.



The reported death of the motorcyclist brings to two the number of commercial motorcyclists allegedly killed by security personnel recently.



On Wednesday, an army personnel allegedly killed another motorcyclist in Paynesville because the cyclist had refused to take him to his destination.



The suspected army personnel is currently in police custody awaiting trial.



Speaking to journalists, police spokesman Sam Collins described the violent incidents in Paynesville as "unfortunate."



"I describe the actions of the cyclists as unfortunate and unforeseen…For people to have a mentality of violence is unfortunate," Collins told the reporters.



www.aa.com.tr/en - Monrovia