Nine people were killed in demonstrations in Senegal

Opposition leader Ousmane Sonko’s supporters have clashed with police while protesting his imprisonment.

Following the imprisonment of opposition leader Ousmane Sonko, nine people were killed in clashes between police and demonstrators in Senegal, according to the country’s Interior Ministry on Friday.

The fatalities occurred in the capital, Dakar, and the southern city of Ziguinchor, where Sonko is mayor, according to an announcement by Interior Minister Antoine Felix Abdoulaye Diome.

Thursday, street violence broke out after a Senegalese court sentenced former presidential candidate Sonko to two years in prison for “corrupting youth.”

The politician, aged 48, was on trial for sexual assault, which he claimed were politically motivated allegations meant to prevent him from standing for president the following year. In 2021, he was accused of raping and threatening to murder a 20-year-old massage parlor employee.

Sonko was acquitted of rape but found culpable of illicit behavior toward a minor in his absence.

Sonko’s supporters protested in the streets and on university campuses throughout the West African nation, with some torching vehicles and throwing projectiles at police.

The authorities have suspended classes until further notice at Cheikh Anta Diop University in Dakar, citing campus violence and the looting of other colleges.

As part of measures to prevent the dissemination of “hateful and subversive messages,” the interior minister announced that Twitter, Facebook, and WhatsApp have been temporarily blocked.

“We remind the media of the importance of respecting the press code, which allows the administrative authority to prevent or put an end to any attack on state security, the integrity of the national territory, or any case of incitement to hatred,” Diome stated.

The government had taken all necessary precautions to ensure the welfare of people and property, he said, urging citizens to remain tranquil.