Pockets of protesters continue their stubborn and desperate struggle against the tyranny of Swaziland's absolute monarchy and unjust laws imposed onto the public as the tiny, landlocked country within South Africa continues to see its fragile economy teeter and harsh austerity measures take hold across the board.
Just today groups of teachers and other individuals continued their 2 week long string of marches and demonstrations in Mbabane, the capital city, demanding a 4.5 percent increase in the wages of educators.
In response to the peaceful protests, the police of Swaziland used crowd suppression weapons such as tear gas and hoses to halt the demonstrations forcing protesters to flee for safety.
An unconfirmed number of approximately 34 injuries have been reported by eyewitnesses.
Swaziland was shook by thousands of rioters last April who were frustrated with the economic situation and the government's apparent inability to relieve the burden. Violent clashes between the rioters and the police went largely unnoticed by the world as the larger and more tumultuous Arab Spring rippled throughout North Africa and the Middle East.
Protesters have been demanding political and economic changes for the better in Swaziland as the country continues to show little sign of winning the struggle with a financial crisis that started in 2009.
Besides its economic troubles, Swaziland has been warily dealing with its HIV and AIDS epidemic which currently holds the highest infection rates in the entire world.
Despite the riots, protests and even outside pressure given by the South African government, the government of Swaziland has refused to cut spending and other budgets concerning the military and the royal family's decadent habits.
Of course, at the center of this problem lies largely the source of the problem: King Mswati the Third.
The absolute monarch has been in power since 1986 and since then has garnered a personal wealth of billions of U.S. dollars along with at least 10 wives following his father King Sobhuza's reign which eliminated party politics and created a new constitution that virtually handed all of the power to the royal family.
Political dissidents and movements have since been oppressed including an opposing political party called the People's United Democratic Movement. King Mswati III banned the political party and in response to international criticism, justified the ban as a ban on a "group of terrorists".
Members of the People's United Democratic Movement have since then "disappeared", been found dead or imprisoned.
Both unconfirmed and confirmed cases of sporadic violence with casualties have been reported since last September between the royalists (police/military) and the protesters.
