The Senegalese presidential coalition has accused the opposition of “destabilizing the country” following riots over the sentence of opposition politician Ousmane Sonko to two years in prison that have killed 15 people since Thursday.
“We’re going to defend our country against these people,” says Senegal’s Minister of Tourism and presidential coalition member Mame Mbaye Niang.
“Today, more than ever, Senegalese are on their feet.” I’m referring to the genuine Senegalese. I’m not referring to those Senegalese who wanted to fan the flames, destabilize the country, flee the country, and vanish into thin air because they are now dormant. These are irresponsible individuals. They called for protests. They called for the destruction of public buildings. “They called for the state’s demise,” Mbaye Niang said on Saturday.
Six more people were killed in clashes between police and opposition supporters on Saturday, bringing the death toll to 15, the government said as tensions remained high.
On Thursday, nine people were killed in the violence that erupted after popular opposition leader Ousmane Sonko was sentenced to two years in prison for “corrupting” a young woman after being acquitted of rape charges.
According to government spokesperson Maham Ka, four more deaths were reported on Friday evening in Dakar and its suburbs, as well as two in Ziguinchor.
As groups of protesting teenagers clashed with security forces, public and private property, banks, and shops were looted. Burned-out cars, tires, and debris-strewn streets bore witness to yet another night of carnage.
By early Saturday afternoon, the interior ministry reported no further violence, with the army still present to support large numbers of police.
Sonko, who was tried in absentia after alleging that the government fabricated the charges in order to prevent him from running for president again next year, has yet to be taken into custody to serve his sentence, which is likely to exacerbate tensions.
He is expected to remain in his Dakar home, where he has been barred from entering by security forces since the weekend, and claims he is being “illegally detained.”
