Subsequently, the authorities suspended Internet access on mobile phones and limited the work of the media. The government dissolved Pastef, a political party led by Sonko, adding fuel to the fire, AFP reported. The demonstrators during the demonstrations shouted, as in Niger, anti-French slogans, demanding the release of the politician.
Clashes began on Monday in some areas of the Dakar, but especially in Ziguinchor, which is led by Ousmane Sonko. It was here that two dead were found, according to a press release from the Senegalese Ministry of the Interior, but without specifying the circumstances. A third death has been recorded in Pikin, a suburb of Dakar, according to CartograFreeSenegal, a consortium of journalists and activists that updates the death toll following June riots in the country.
During the riots, tires were burned and stone barricades were erected on the highway, and protesters chanted anti-French slogans and chanted “Freedom for Sonko!” The police dispersed the protesters with tear gas.
Arrested on Friday at his home in Ziguinchor, Usman Sonko, 49, has been charged and placed under arrest for various offences. Among the accusations against him are “incitement to sedition, attack against State security organs, linking criminals to a terrorist organization” and “conspiracy against the State.”
Justice holds him and his party responsible for the deaths during the demonstrations that took place between March 2021 and June 2023. In this sense, the Ministry of the Interior announced the dissolution of the organization “African Patriots of Senegal for Ethics, Work and Fraternity” (Pastef), specifies the newspaper Le Parisien.
Authorities fear that the crisis will escalate until the presidential elections in Senegal, which will be held in January 2024. “One of the likely scenarios that is coming up is civil unrest before the vote,” Caroline Roussy, director of research by Iris (Institute of International and Strategic Relations of France).
A former member of parliament who came third in the 2019 presidential election and a candidate in the 2024 election, Sonko received a six-month suspended sentence on May 8 for defamation. The Senegalese authorities fear a repeat of the riots at the beginning of June, triggered by the opening of another trial against Sonko, which left sixteen dead and hundreds injured. In March 2021, after his first arrest for this case in Senegal, fourteen people died during the protests.
A rising figure on the Senegalese political scene, Ousmane Sonko has the support of a significant part of the population, particularly the youth, whom he has been able to inspire with his anti-Western discourses and calling for transparency from the authorities. On Sunday he announced on social media the start of a hunger strike. Sonko also urged people to “stand up” and “resist.” “Now is not the time to hesitate, because victory has never been so close,” he added. His calls were heard by his followers.
For their part, French citizens, more than 21,000 people in the country, have received messages from the French consulate urging them to “remain vigilant while traveling” and “stay away from mass gatherings.”
