A 17-year-old boy was shot dead in violent protests in Senegal on Saturday. A government official confirms this to a news agency Reuters. A total of five people have been killed since Wednesday.
After Ousmane Sonko, Senegal’s most prominent opposition leader, was arrested on Wednesday, thousands of people took to the streets. It is the worst political unrest in years. Senegal is generally regarded as one of the most stable countries in West Africa.
The 17-year-old boy was shot dead in clashes between protesters and authorities in the southern town of Diaoube.
All over the country, protesters burned or looted police stations and various government buildings. The demonstrations were sparked by the arrest of opposition leader Ousmane Sonko. He is charged with rape. Sonko denies, saying the allegation is an attempt by President Macky Sall to eliminate him as a political rival. The government denies this.
Sonko is popular among the young protesters. They question the allegations against the opposition leader because two other top rivals of President Sall were previously the target of criminal charges that prevented them from running for president in 2019.
The protesters are also protesting the high unemployment and corona measures that are causing a worsening economic situation, especially for workers in the informal sector.
Opponents of the president have called for three days of national protests from Monday.
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