This evening the city is on edge. It's been that way ever since the events of last night which saw merciless looting and destruction of commercial property on Albert Street. That was preceded by student-led acts of spirited civil disobedience on the Belcan Bridge. Tonight the situation in the city is stable even if that hold on stability feels somewhat tenuous. There are BDF soldiers on just about every corner in the main commercial area of Albert and Queen Street and they are bolstered by heavy police patrols. This afternoon there were two protest gatherings at key locations in the city.
The first was at the Queen Street Police Station where a crowd gathered first to protest the rumored detention of UB student leader Moses Sulph. But it turns out Sulph has not been detained and the crowd then turned its attention to the PUP headquarters where the PUP leadership including Prime Minister Said Musa, his Deputy Johnny Briceno, and Works Minister Joe Coye had gathered for a meeting. That's when the agitation turned up a few notches and police riot squads began
to move decisively to clear the area. The crowd was first moved from in front of Independence Hall. That left area businesses like the Angelus Press no choice but to close their doors. The riot squads
further advanced on the crowd which at this point had grown considerably, mainly with people getting off work, pushing them further onto the bridge. With the crowd distracted, by officers tackling a bystander, PM Musa was able to safely depart the location in a decoy vehicle. After 5:30 and the crowd still holding their ground despite the ominous drone of a BDF Defender above a third riot squad, this one of BDF soldiers, entered from North Front street. All three units advanced onto the bridge and up Albert Street sending those who had gathered into retreat. The crowd was effectively dispersed within half-hour.
