Nine Senegalese Die While Protesting for the Release of Sonko

On Thursday, Senegalese security forces killed nine people who were protesting the two-year prison sentence against opposition leader Ousmane Sonko.

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"The violence led to the destruction of property and unfortunately to the death of nine people in Dakar and Ziguinchor," Interior Minister Antoine Felix Diome said.

President Macky Sall decided to suspend the use of certain social networks, arguing that they were being used to deliver violent messages.

On Thursday morning, hundreds of young people took to the streets of cities such as Dakar, Ziguinchor, Bignona, Saint-Louis, Louga, Kaolack, and Mbour.

They erected barricades using burning tires and vehicles, threw stones at police forces, and carried out acts of looting at businesses and public buildings.

The tweet reads, "This is happening in Senegal. Please retweet as much as possible so everyone can see this video."

Sonko's party, the Senegal Patriots for Work, Ethics and Fraternity (PASTEF), said the verdict against its leader is the latest stage of the plot hatched by "Sall and his henchmen against the main opponent of this country."

Earlier, a Dakar court sentenced Sonko to two years in prison for corruption of minors, after being accused by a young masseuse, Adji Sarr, of "repeated rapes" and "death threats."

In accordance with the Senegalese electoral code, this sentence prevents Sonko from being a candidate for the presidential elections scheduled for February 2024.

When the judges announced his verdict, Sonko remained under house arrest guarded by security forces as he had been sentenced to six months in prison for insulting a Senegalese minister, whom Sonko accused of corruption.