DJIBOUTI CITY, Djibouti, Feb. 18 (UPI) -- Street protests that have swept the Middle East in recent weeks have reached the small country of Djibouti on the Horn of Africa.
Although Afrol News said there were 20,000 protesters, many observers said from 1,000 to 2,000 people hit the streets in Djibouti City after Friday prayers, Voice of America reported. They demanded that President Ismail Omar Guelleh, who succeeded his uncle in 1999, give up plans to run for a third term in April.
The constitution was recently amended to remove a two-term limit.
Djibouti, located between Eritrea and Somalia and across the Red Sea from Aden, has an authoritarian government that has been friendly to the United States. Camp Lemonnier, the only U.S. base in sub-Saharan Africa is located there along with a small French base.
Mohamed Daoud Chehem, leader of the Djibouti Party for Development, told VOA protests were peaceful and police did not try to stop the marchers.
"This is not a strong regime," he said. "The people don't like this regime."
Djibouti, with a population of less than a million, has no foreign reporters based there. VOA said journalists who tried to enter the country this week were denied visas.
