Edward McAllister/Portal
People walk past a bus stop destroyed during clashes between supporters of Senegalese opposition leader Ousmane Sonko and security forces after Sonko was sentenced to prison in Dakar, Senegal June 3, 2023.
CNN –
Senegalese Foreign Ministry announced on Tuesday that it would temporarily close its foreign consulates amid high political tensions that have led to attacks on its diplomatic missions in Paris, Bordeaux, Milan and New York.
Deadly protests erupted in the Senegalese capital Dakar and other cities last week following the sentencing of popular opposition leader Ousmane Sonko.
At least 16 people were killed and hundreds injured in several days of unrest when Sonko’s supporters clashed with security forces.
The aftermath of the crisis has had repercussions abroad, with the Senegalese diaspora leading demonstrations in front of the country’s consulates abroad.
It is says the State Department It is taking a “precautionary measure” to temporarily close its diplomatic missions in France, Italy and the United States after a “series of attacks”.
The Senegalese consulate in Milan was hardest hit, the ministry said, noting that “machines used to produce passports and ID cards were destroyed”.
It added that services in consulates will resume “as soon as material and security conditions allow”.
More than 40 protesters suspected of being Sonko’s supporters gathered outside the Senegalese consulate in Milan on Monday, Italian public broadcaster RAI reported, adding that the consulate building was ransacked and Consul General Mamadou Lamine Diouf was attacked may be.
Calm has slowly returned to the Senegalese capital after the deadly clashes, the country’s Red Cross told CNN.
“Yesterday (Monday) only one case of demonstration was detected in Malika in a suburb of Dakar,” said Nfaly Sadio of the Senegalese Red Cross.
“The total number of wounded rescued by the Red Cross was 357,” he told CNN on Tuesday.
Tensions remain high, however, and there are fears protests could flare up again as uncertainty over Sonko’s conviction threatens his chances of running for next year’s presidential election.
Sonko has yet to be arrested after being convicted last week of “debauchery of youth,” which under the country’s penal code constitutes “immoral conduct” toward a person under the age of 21. He was not in court when the verdict was announced on Thursday.
He was acquitted of charges of raping and threatening to kill a massage parlor worker.
Justice Minister Ismaila Madior Fall told Senegalese media that the state is ready to arrest the opposition leader as soon as the country’s prosecutors agree. The arrest could happen at any time, he added.
Businesses have gradually reopened in the capital, Dakar, where public and private buildings have been vandalized as protesters clashed with riot police.
Other cities affected by the deadly clashes are also returning to normal, local media reported.
Sonko leads the African Patriots of Senegal for Work, Ethics and Fraternity (PASTEF) and enjoys broad support among young people in the country.
When he was first arrested for rape in 2021, angry youths clashed with police, killing at least eight people, Amnesty International reported at the time.
Senegal is considered one of West Africa’s most stable democracies but has been rocked by deadly protests in recent years, particularly among young people frustrated by unemployment, inequality and corruption.
After the 2021 protests, President Macky Sall said he understood their anger and pledged to provide additional funding and more job opportunities.
However, he has not spoken out publicly at recent demonstrations, and some Senegalese have called him out.
“Senegal experienced a tragedy that moved the whole world. Unarmed demonstrators, or at most armed with harmless rocks against armored vehicles and shields, the blind repression of these citizens resulted in 16 deaths in two days. Not even Macky’s tweet. Contempt,” tweeted Journalist Pape Alé Niang.
Sall was most recently involved in peace talks with the African Union over the war between Russia and Ukraine. after to his office.