Lebanese expatriates in Africa have once more been targeted by rioters, this time in Burkina Faso’s capital, where angry local traders went on a rampage last week to protest alleged “unjust trading practices.”
According to the Lebanese Daily Star, police dispersed about 300 enraged merchants who destroyed windows and signs on most Lebanese businesses in the city. No casualties were reported, and the government made no comment on the chaos.
Local traders accuse the city’s estimated 300 Lebanese traders of bribing officials, running monopolies and selling imported goods themselves at reduced prices instead of going through local middlemen, said the report.
Lebanese-owned businesses thrive in much of West Africa and form a key part of many economies in the region.
Last week, the Foreign Ministry unveiled a program to boost its contacts with expatriate Lebanese in Africa. The move follows the killing of several Lebanese in Congo in the wake of the assassination of Congolese President Laurent Kabila earlier this year – Albawaba.com
