[ 2021-03-05 ]

Senegal restricts internet as pro-Sonko protests escalate
Senegalese authorities have restricted internet
access as protests over the detention of an
opposition leader intensify, internet monitor
NetBlocks said on Friday.

Over the past two days, at least one person has
been killed in clashes between riot police and
supporters of Ousmane Sonko, who say his detention
on Wednesday in the wake of a rape allegation is
politically motivated.

NetBlocks said social media and messaging apps
including Facebook, WhatsApp, and Youtube had been
restricted early on Friday ahead of a planned
demonstration by civil society and opposition
parties led by protest movement “Y En A Marre”
(Enough is Enough).

Sonko, a 46-year old tax inspector who came third
with 15% of the vote in the 2019 presidential
election, enjoys widespread support among
Senegalese youth. He faces questioning after he
was stripped of his parliamentary immunity last
week.

He was detained on Wednesday on charges of
disturbing public order after protests broke over
a rape allegation against him that he says is an
attempt by President Macky Sall’s government to
undermine him.

While not immune to political unrest, it has been
several years since Senegal - one of West
Africa’s most stable democracies - has seen such
a violent standoff between protesters and the
authorities.

“We call on the Senegalese authorities to
respect the freedom of peaceful assembly
throughout the country,” said Samira Daoud,
regional director of rights group Amnesty
International.

Amnesty expressed concern about what it said was a
wave of arbitrary arrests in a crackdown that has
seen two private television channels suspended for
72 hours for their coverage of the protests.

The streets of Dakar were quiet early on Friday.
Some had been swept clean of rubble and burned
tyres from the previous day, when protesters
lobbed rocks at riot police who fired guns and
tear gas in response.

Bracing for the protests, some schools and shops
were shuttered following looting and destruction
in several neighbourhoods in the capital.

Source - Ghanaweb

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