two young men killed during demonstrations against the postponement of the presidential election by Macky Sall

Major demonstrations have been taking place since February 9 against President Macky Sall, who postponed the date of the presidential election.

Senegal is sinking into crisis. Two young people died during demonstrations against President Macky Sall and his decision to postpone the date of the presidential election by almost a year, AFP learned on Saturday February 10.

The Saint-Louis public prosecutor said he had opened an investigation to clarify the circumstances of the death of a first young man on Friday. According to a student leader at Gaston Berger University, it was a geography student from the establishment, aged 22, who “died from his injuries during the demonstrations in Saint-Louis”.

The Minister of the Interior said in a press release “that the defense and security forces did not intervene on the university campus where the death occurred”. His death deeply moved the country, and hundreds of students paid tribute to him by keeping vigil during the night from Friday to Saturday.

The brother of another young man, a 23-year-old street vendor, told AFP that he died on Saturday in Dakar after participating in a rally. “There were tear gas grenades fired, and then we went to the Colobane TER station to return”he said. “It was there that a gendarme shot him in the stomach with a live bullet”he says. “He underwent two operations [dans la nuit de vendredi à samedi] and unfortunately, he succumbed to his injuries [samedi] Morning”, his brother-in-law told AFP. The information has not been confirmed by the authorities.

New demonstrations planned for Tuesday

On Friday, large-scale demonstrations against the postponement of the elections and President Macky Sall took place across the country, but they were immediately dispersed by security forces. In the capital, Dakar, police used tear gas extensively to keep away people who were seeking to gather near the Place de la Nation. Protesters responded by throwing stones and erecting barricades with makeshift objects.

The repression sparked a wave of indignation in the opposition and among certain allies of power. “We call the regional and international community to witness, in the face of the excesses of this dying power” of President Macky Sall, reacted Khalifa Sall, one of the main candidates in the presidential election. A new demonstration launched by a civil society collective, Aar Sunu Election (“Let’s protect our election”), is planned for Tuesday.