Senegalese security forces fired tear gas at protesters in the capital Friday, February 9, as mounting anger over the postponement of a presidential election claimed a first death. A student was killed in the northern town of Saint-Louis, according to associates of the man, as protests spread around the West African country.
Police fired tear gas to stop demonstrators getting to the Place de la Nation in central Dakar, where a rally had been planned. Hundreds of demonstrators threw stones at police and set fire to tires. Anger has mounted since President Macky Sall postponed a presidential election scheduled for February 25 until December.
"The situation is deplorable. We came to pray and we got gassed. It's intolerable," Thierno Alassane Sall, one of the 20 candidates who had been due to vie for the presidency, told Agence France-Presse.
Clashes spread to other areas of the capital, closing main roads, rail lines and main markets. Demonstrations also took place in other towns, according to social network reports.
The death of the student in Saint-Louis was confirmed to AFP by a local hospital source speaking on condition of anonymity and an official at the university the student attended.
Police also dispersed a protest by about 200 people in Nioro du Rip, some 250 kilometers (150 miles) east of Dakar, an AFP reporter saw. Authorities have not given a toll for the week of protests.
The crisis has called into question the West African country's reputation for democratic stability in a region beset by military coups.
Protests usually require authorization and rights advocates say authorities have routinely banned opposition demonstrations. Since 2021, dozens of people have been killed and hundreds arrested during unrest in the country.
"Senegalese must show their anger, and not just on social media," said the candidate Thierno Alassane Sall, who is no relation to the president.
Teachers were urged to walk out by education unions within the civil society platform Aar Sunu Election (Let's Protect Our Election).At Blaise Diagne high school in Dakar, hundreds of pupils walked out of lessons with their teacher.
History and geography teacher Assane Sene said it was just the start of the battle. "If the government is stubborn, we will have to try different approaches."
At the Masjidounnour mosque in Dakar, 37-year-old Amadou Sy told AFP: "The message hasn't got through enough. But the situation in the country is deplorable, nobody's happy."