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Violent protests hit Senegal for a third day as protesters burned cars and clashed with police after an opposition leader was arrested on Wednesday.
Four people have died in the rare unrest, the interior minister said.
Ousmane Sonko appeared in court on Friday, accused of disturbing public order. He also faces an allegation of rape.
He denies the allegations and his supporters say the accusations are politically motivated.
On Friday, the Minister of the Interior Antoine Félix Abdoulaye Diome pledged to use “all the means necessary for a return to order”.
Speaking on national television, Mr. Diome accused Mr. Sonko of “making calls for violence”.
UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres has urged protesters and police to refrain from violence in this country which is one of the most stable countries in West Africa.
Police fired tear gas at supporters of Mr. Sonko on Friday, who erected makeshift barricades in the capital Dakar where the ground was covered in burnt debris and people chanted “Free Sonko”.
The police blocked motorcycles and mopeds, which are popular among young supporters of Mr. Sonko, on the streets of the city. A supermarket in the suburbs of Dakar was raided on Friday, according to the AFP news agency.
“What we are going through in this country is incredible, it is shameful,” a protester told Reuters news agency.
The demonstrators gathered in the outskirts of the city and in the southern town of Bignona, stronghold of Mr. Sonko.
Two private television stations that covered the protests were suspended for 72 hours by the government.
Thursday Internet monitor NetBlocks said access to social media and messaging apps is restricted.
The United Nations special envoy for West Africa, Mohamed Ibn Chambas, called for calm.
Some of the protesters have targeted French businesses such as supermarkets and gas stations as they say under President Macky Sall France has expanded its economic interests in its former colony.
Mr. Sonko, 46, was charged with rape in February by a woman who worked in a beauty salon.
Following an investigation, he was arrested on Wednesday and brought to justice along with a group of supporters.
Police said they then arrested him for disrupting public order when he refused to change his route to go to court.
Mr Sonko says the rape allegations are fabricated. He accuses President Sall of trying to eliminate potential opponents before the 2024 election. Two other opposition leaders were excluded from the 2019 election after being convicted of charges they said were politically motivated.
There are reports that Mr Sall may seek to amend the constitution to allow him to run for a third term.
Mr. Sonko is the president’s only serious challenger, says Ndèye Khady Lo of BBC Africa in Dakar.
She explains that the opposition politician is particularly appreciated by young Senegalese for his promise of radical opposition to what he calls “the system”.
In 2014, he founded his own political party, Nastef, and came third in the 2019 presidential election with 15% of the vote.
In a video recorded and shared on social media in 2018, Mr. Sonko told activists: “There is enormous potential in this country. It is unacceptable to see the suffering of our people.
“Our politicians are criminals. Those who have ruled Senegal from the start deserve to be shot. “
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