
Police and protesters in Senegal clashed for a second day which resulted in death of one more person on Friday (June 2). The protests and clashes have erupted after sentencing of opposition politician Ousmane Sonko. The violence is one of the deadliest 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.
Crowds of protesters in face covers, some with spades, set tires and debris alight. They squared up to the police in various districts of Dakar, capital of Senegal.
Watch | Senegal: Riots break out in Dakar, violence erupts at central university campus
Supermarkets, shops, banks and even police stations have been attacked by mobs.
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 have been deployed to control the mobs. They have cracked down using tear gas, which wafted through the Senegalese capital on Friday. Loud bangs rang out in several neighbourhoods.
Restrictions have been put on several social media and messaging platforms in order to limit online communication.
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.
Sall has neither confirmed nor denied this.
The violence has been condemned by the United Nations, the African Union and West Africa's main regional bloc. France, the former colonial power in Africa, has urged restraint and dialogue.
Amnesty International has meanwhile called on the government to investigate Thursday's deaths and avoid using force disproportionately.
(With inputs from agencies)
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