[ad_1]
A senior Senegalese official whose job it is to resolve conflicts said the country was on a dangerous precipice after four days of protests that left at least five dead.
Alioune Badara Cissé, known as the mediator of the republic, urged the authorities to stop threats and intimidation against young people.
He also said the protesters should act peacefully and stop the looting.
The unrest was sparked by the arrest of opposition leader Ousmane Sonko.
Mr Sonko appeared in court on Friday on charges of disturbing public order. He also faces an allegation of rape.
He denies the allegations and his supporters say the accusations are politically motivated.
The protests were also fueled by economic inequalities and concerns about the standard of living of young people.
Speaking at a press conference on Sunday, Cissé said authorities “need to take a break and talk with our young people” and warned that “we are on the brink of apocalypse”.
His statement comes a day after a teenager from the southern town of Diaobe became the fifth person known to have died in clashes with security forces in various parts of the country.
But the respected ombudsperson warns of more unrest to come unless the government acts quickly to tackle deepening poverty and the lack of job prospects for young people, reports Will Ross, editor. BBC chief for Africa.
Friday, following the violence in the capital, Dakar, and elsewhere, 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”.
The opposition alliance known as the Movement for the Defense of Democracy (M2D), which is behind the protests, announced three more days of protests from Monday.
The West African regional group Ecowas condemned the violence and called on “all parties to exercise restraint and remain calm” – adding that the authorities should “take the necessary measures to ease tensions and guarantee the freedom to demonstrate peacefully” .
Mr. Sonko, 46, was charged with rape in February.
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 Macky Sall of trying to eliminate potential opponents before the 2024 elections.
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, particularly appreciated by young Senegalese, is the president’s only serious challenger, says Ndèye Khady Lo of BBC Africa in Dakar.
In 2014, he founded his own political party, Pastef-Les Patriotes, and came third in the 2019 presidential election with 15% of the vote.
Source link
