The clashes result in at least 25 protesters and three injured policemen
May 16. (EUROPE PRESS) –
The Senegalese authorities have reported this Monday that a police officer has died in an accident involving an armored vehicle belonging to the security forces that were operating in the framework of protests by followers of the opposition leader and mayor of the city of Ziguinchor ( south), Ousmane Sonko.
“The Minister of the Interior (Antoine Félix Abdoulaye Diome) regrets to announce the death of Police officer Hassime Diediu, which occurred this Monday, May 15, 2023 in Ziguinchor, after a tragic accident caused by a tank from the Mobile Intervention Group,” reads a statement. release.
Diome, who has conveyed his condolences to the family of the deceased on behalf of the president, Macky Sall, has highlighted “the courage and dedication” of the Defense and Security Forces (FDS). “Hassime was a dedicated and courageous police officer who served with honor and dignity. His death, in the performance of his duties, is an immense loss to his family, his colleagues and all of the SDF,” he he has added.
The Senegalese Police launched tear gas on Monday against hundreds of people who had gathered in front of Sonko’s house, blocking the passage to the area, to try to avoid his possible arrest in the face of a summons to appear before a court in the capital. , Dakar, for a 2021 case of rape and threats against an employee of a hairdressing salon.
After that, at least 28 people have been injured -25 protesters and three policemen- and have been transferred to hospitals where they are receiving treatment, according to hospital sources consulted by the APS news agency.
Sonko was arrested in 2021 after around twenty opposition parliamentarians filed an appeal with the Constitutional Court against the withdrawal of their parliamentary immunity. The arrest of the opponent, who came in third place in the 2019 presidential elections, unleashed a wave of protests that resulted in several deaths.
The opposition has denounced on several occasions that the president of Senegal, Macky Sall, has plans to run for a third term. The Senegalese constitution limits the total number of terms to two and an attempt to extend his stay in power could lead to instability.
