Clashes between police and supporters of Senegalese opposition leader Ousmane Sonko left nine people dead, the government said Friday, with authorities issuing a blanket ban on the use of several social media platforms in the aftermath of the violence.
The deaths occurred mainly in the capital, Dakar, and Ziguinchor in the south, where Sonko is mayor, Interior Minister Antoine Felix Abdoulaye Diome said in a statement.
Sonko came in third in Senegal's 2019 presidential election and is popular with the country's youth. His supporters maintain his legal troubles are part of a government effort to derail his candidacy in the 2024 presidential election. Under Senegalese law, his conviction would bar Sonko from running in next year's election, said Bamba Cisse, another defense lawyer.
Shortly after the verdict was announced Thursday, clashes erupted throughout the country with Sonko's PASTEF party calling for people to take to the streets.
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