Thousands of people took to the streets in Senegal's capital Dakar on Monday to protest against proposed trade deals with Europe.

 

The rally was backed by Senegal's government which says the new agreement will expose local African markets to too much foreign competition.

Bacar Dia, the Senegalese information minister, addressing the protesters, said: "When we are asked to open our borders to allow in products from the north without any customs barriers, without taxes, it's almost like declaring nuclear war on us."

The EU proposed looking to sign economic partnership agreements (EPAs) with six regional groupings of mainly poor former colonies, at an EU-Africa summit last month.

 

The EPAs were expected to be agreed upon before preferential trade deals with the African nations ran out on December 31.

 

However, so far most African countries have refused to sign up.

 

Dakar and other African governments say the deals will be very damaging to the continent.

 

But Brussels and the 15-member West African regional bloc Ecowas agreed in December to a negotiation timetable, with an agreement set by June 2009, in an effort to find compromise.

 

The EU advocates EPAs as the best substitute to trade preferences, declared illegal by the WTO.