Mauritius, an Indian-ocean island nation best known for its white-sand beach resorts, has been rocked by its worst riots since 1999.

Demonstrations that erupted last week over water shortages and living costs escalated after the police shot and injured a 27-year-old woman on Oct. 9. The protests almost three decades ago came amid demands for cannabis to be decriminalized.

Schools have been shut and the main business lobby group urged companies to allow staff to work from home.

“This time again, as in 1999, the police are the main target,” Jocelyn Chan Low, an historian and political analyst, said in an interview. “The scale of the violence has multiplied, with police stations and vehicles set ablaze.”

While African countries ranging from Morocco and Kenya to Madagascar have been hit by riots overs costs, power shortages and unemployment over the last two years, unrest in Mauritius is unusual.

The archipelago, which relies on tourism and financial services to fund its economy, is Africa’s second-richest nation per capita after the Seychelles. It has held peaceful elections since independence from the UK in 1968.

Still, the war in the Middle East has driven up fuel prices and a crippling drought has emptied reservoirs, resulting in water-use restrictions in some areas.

Cannabis rally

Street protests began on Oct. 7 in the central region of the main island, known as Mauritius, with roads blocked with broken furniture and mattresses. The shooting of the woman further fueled anger, with Indian surgeons who had been flown in to treat her operating on Monday to remove a bullet.

“The root cause for the unrest is almost similar” to the riots three decades ago, said Chan Low. “In February 1999, a popular singer died in police custody, triggering riots.”

Back then, Joseph Reginald Topize, known by the stage name Kaya, was found dead after being detained by police. The death of the singer of seggae music, a blend of reggae and the local sega genre, sparked three days of demonstrations. Churches and shops were burned and looted, and several protesters killed, according to the U.S. State Department.

On Oct. 12, protesters burnt a police station in Rose Hill, a town south of the capital Port Louis, set tires alight and blocked roads across the country.

Calm urged

Calm has now been restored, according to the authorities, and banks and the stock exchange are open.

“The situation is under control,” the Mauritius Police Force said in a statement on Tuesday morning. “All roads are passable.”

Unless the unrest persists tourism and investor confidence are unlikely to be affected, Zoë McCathie, country risk analyst at Cape Town-based Signal Risk, said. “Mauritius is still seen to have a business-friendly environment.”

Prime Minister Navinchandra Ramgoolam said the shooting is being investigated and urged calm. The policeman who fired the shot that injured the woman, Elodie Thomas, has been arrested and charged.

“I have insisted that the investigation proceed as quickly as possible to establish the exact circumstances of this tragedy and determine where responsibility lies,” he said on Oct. 11. “In these painful moments, anger is understandable. However, it must not lead to further tragedies.”

He has called an emergency cabinet meeting for 2:30 p.m. local time to discuss the situation.

While it’s unclear what action will be taken, the National Land Transportation Authority announced that bus services will end at 6 p.m., Tuesday, hours earlier than usual

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