Senegal: Coup thwarted after arrests

THE SENEGALESE government says it has thwarted an attempted coup by arresting suspected "commando" groups linked to the opposition who were planning lethal attacks around the capital Dakar.

In a statement read out on state television, justice minister Cheikh Tidiane Sy said authorities had learned that "commandos" linked to opposition groups had been planning a number of actions around the capital "to create panic and cause fatalities".

A protest against living conditions in the country also took place in the capital yesterday. It marked the 11th anniversary of Abdoulaye Wade's presidency and was held in Dakar's central Independence Square, which organisers dubbed "Tahrir Place" for the day in homage to the epicentre of Egypt's uprising.