Gambia President Pledges Power Boost Amidst Protests

President Adama Barrow of The Gambia has pledged to significantly improve the nation's electricity supply by the end of October, following a wave of increasingly chaotic protests against persistent and prolonged power outages. The blackouts, which began in June and have worsened in recent weeks, have led residents to block streets, burn tires, and demand Barrow's resignation. The protests escalated overnight Monday into Tuesday, with demonstrators in the capital, Banjul, and surrounding areas clashing with police, who used tear gas to disperse crowds. Some protesters reportedly headed towards the headquarters of the National Water and Electricity Corporation (NAWEC), the country's energy provider. President Barrow declared the outages a national security issue and an emergency, acknowledging the hardship faced by citizens. "I know that the fans have stopped turning, children work in the dark, mothers throw away stale food, and the heat is unbearable by day and by night," Barrow stated in a national address. He announced that the government is in the final stages of installing an additional 24-megawatt generation machine, expected to be commissioned by the end of October.