Monday, June 05, 2023

Senegal: 16 Killed In Clashes, Opposition Slams Police Brutality

In total, 78 seriously wounded people were taken to health centres

By Ignatius Igwe
Updated June 5, 2023
Senegalese Gendarmerie block a road after protests burned tires and blocked roads in Dakar, on June 3, 2023. 
JOHN WESSELS / AFP

Supporters of Senegal’s firebrand opposition leader Ousmane Sonko condemned police brutality on Sunday after clashes over his recent court conviction left at least 16 people dead and more than 350 demonstrators injured.

The violence erupted on Thursday when Sonko was sentenced to two years behind bars in a case he says was designed to stop him running for president next year.

The Red Cross said it has helped 357 injured demonstrators, including a pregnant woman, as well as 36 members of the defence and security forces who were hurt since the unrest broke out.

In total, 78 seriously wounded people were taken to health centres, it added.

Supporters of Sonko and President Macky Sall have traded blame for the violence and deaths.

On Sunday, Sonko’s PASTEF-Patriots party condemned “the murderous repression by defence and security forces”, accusing the government of deploying “private militias”.

It urged people to “defend themselves in any way they can and fight back”.

The official death toll is 16, but PASTEF-Patriots said 19 demonstrators had been killed.

The government accused Sonko’s supporters of “vandalism and banditry”.

The government has restricted access to social media and on Sunday decided to “temporarily” cut mobile data internet on phones, saying “hateful and subversive messages” were being shared.

There were more signs of a return to calm on Sunday, with fewer officers on the streets and quiet in several Dakar neighbourhoods that saw violence earlier in the week.

The interior ministry said there was a “clear drop in tension and arrests”.

On Saturday, Interior Minister Antionie Diome said around 500 people had been arrested since Thursday.

He said he suspects “foreign influence” is behind what he called an “attack” against Senegal, without elaborating.

Sonko, a 48-year-old former tax inspector, has spoken out against debt, poverty, food insecurity, under-funded health and education systems and corruption.

He was initially charged with rape but was convicted on a lesser charge of morally “corrupting” a young woman.

His conviction may take him out of the running for the 2024 poll.

He was tried in absentia and has yet to be taken into custody for his jail term, which is predicted to stoke further tensions.

He is presumed to be at his Dakar home, where he has been blocked in by security forces since last weekend. He previously alleged he was being “illegally held”.

Sonko’s ongoing legal woes have prompted rare flare-ups of violence in Senegal, typically a bastion of stability in West Africa, and foreign allies have urged a return to calm.

Senegal death toll rises as opposition protests continue

Tensions remain high in the West African country after violent protests in several cities killed six people on Friday, taking the total number killed this week to 15.


The unrest is the latest in a string of opposition protests in Senegal, long considered one of West Africa's most stable democracies. / Photo: AA

Tensions have remained high in Senegal after fresh overnight clashes brought the death toll to 15 in the two days since a court convicted opposition leader Ousmane Sonko.

Sonko's ongoing legal woes have prompted rare flare-ups of violence continuing into Saturday in Senegal, typically a bastion of stability in West Africa, and foreign allies have urged a return to calm.

Sonko, a 48-year-old former tax inspector, was initially charged with rape but was convicted on a lesser charge of morally "corrupting" a young woman and sentenced to two years in prison.

He claims the charges against him were a bid by the government to torpedo his political career ahead of the presidential election next year. His conviction may take him out of the running for the 2024 poll.

Clashes between Sonko's supporters and police broke out after the ruling on Thursday, leaving nine people dead. Shops and businesses were ransacked.

The army was deployed to the streets but fresh scuffles erupted on Friday night in parts of the capital, Dakar, and in Ziguinchor. They left another six dead, government spokesman Maham Katol.

The government has acknowledged that it has restricted access to social networks such as Facebook, WhatsApp and Twitter in order to stop "the dissemination of hateful and subversive messages".

African Union, West African bloc urges restraint

The African Union (AU) and the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) regional bloc has condemned the ongoing violence.

Chairperson of the African Union Commission, Moussa Faki Mahamat, "strongly" condemned the violence in a statement.

“Such acts tarnish the image of Senegalese democracy, of which Africa has always been proud," said Faki, urging all political actors to exercise restraint and dialogue.

The AU urged Senegalese authorities to respect the right to peaceful demonstration.

The ECOWAS deplored the loss of life and called “for restraint and the settlement of disputes by peaceful means.”

“ECOWAS strongly condemns the violence that has targeted security forces, public property, private property and disturbed public order,” it said in a statement.

On Friday, United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres condemned the violence and "urged all those involved to... exercise restraint".

The European Union and Senegal's former colonial power France also expressed concern over the violence.

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