Senegal protesters and police clash again as death toll rises to 10
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[June 03, 2023]
By Bate Felix, Sofia Christensen and Ngouda Dione
DAKAR (Reuters) -One more person was killed in Senegal on Friday, as
police and protesters clashed for a second day since the sentencing of
opposition politician Ousmane Sonko sparked some of the deadliest
violence in recent memory.
Nine people died in clashes between police and Sonko supporters on
Thursday after he was sentenced to two years in prison on charges of
corrupting youth. The opposition says the verdict, which could prevent
Sonko from running in elections next year, was politically motivated.
Rowdy crowds of protesters in face covers, some wielding spades, set
tires and debris on fire, squaring up to police in various districts of
the capital, Dakar.
Mobs have attacked supermarkets, shops, banks, police stations and
public transport networks.
Similar scenes were reported in other parts of the country on Friday.
Interior ministry spokesperson Maham Ka said another person was killed
in the southern town of Cap Skirring, where protesters targeted a
gendarmerie, bringing the death toll up to 10.
Riot police and soldiers deployed to reinforce security cracked down on
the demonstrations with tear gas, which wafted through Dakar on Friday
evening as loud bangs rang out in several neighbourhoods.
Ka told the state broadcaster the situation was now mainly under control
and that the few remaining "incursions" were being handled.
"If demonstrations had remained peaceful ... there would be no issue,"
he said, describing the protests as "gratuitous violence" and
congratulating security forces for their interventions.
Several social media and messaging platforms have been restricted to
limit online communications.
Thursday and Friday's riots were the latest bout in months of violence
in Senegal, long considered one of West Africa's strongest democracies,
sparked by Sonko's court case as well as concerns that President Macky
Sall will try to bypass a two-term limit and run again in February
elections.
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Students and supporters of Senegal
opposition leader Ousmane Sonko clash with with security forces,
after Sonko was sentenced to prison in Dakar, Senegal June 1, 2023.
REUTERS/Zohra Bensemra
Sall has neither confirmed nor denied this.
The United Nations, the African Union and West Africa's main
regional bloc have condemned the violence. France urged restraint
and dialogue to resolve the crisis.
Amnesty International has meanwhile called on the government to
investigate Thursday's deaths and avoid using force
disproportionately.
Earlier on Friday, large groups of students were bussed out of
Dakar's main university campus, which was the epicentre of
Thursday's violence. Classes have been suspended indefinitely.
Sonko, 48, was accused of raping a woman who worked in a massage
parlour in 2021, when she was 20, and making death threats against
her.
A criminal court cleared Sonko of rape, but found him guilty of an
offence described in the penal code as immoral behaviour towards
individuals younger than 21. He denies wrongdoing.
Many, especially the young, strongly support him.
"Young people are motivated, they will not let this go," said Cheikh
Hann, a tailor. "The government cannot eliminate opponents."
(Reporting by Bate Felix, Cooper Inveen, Sofia Christensen and
Ngouda Dione; Writing by Anait Miridzhanian and Sofia
ChristensenEditing by Frances Kerry, Matthew Lewis and Grant McCool)
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