AFP correspondents saw groups of young men hurling stones at the security forces, who were deployed in large numbers around the neighborhood of Kor Gorgy, where Sonko’s house is located.
Clashes took place in Dakar on Monday between security forces and young supporters of the opposition Ousmane Sonko, who was forcibly returned by the authorities to his home in the Senegalese capital on Sunday, according to AFP correspondents.
And AFP correspondents saw groups of young men throwing stones at the security forces, who deployed in large numbers in the vicinity of the Kor Gorgi neighborhood, where Sonko’s house is located.
Other groups of young men burned tires on one of the main traffic axes in the capital and blocked nearby roads with obstacles.
The security forces responded to the protesters with large amounts of tear gas.
According to local media, cars were set on fire near the home of former Sports Minister Matar Ba, who is currently chief of staff to President Macky Sall’s office.
“detained”
The security forces closed the roads leading to Sonko’s house. Osino Lee, a spokesman for Sonko’s Bastif party, told AFP that the party’s leader was “in detention”.
And Sonko, who is always present on social media platforms, has not appeared in public since the security forces in the south of the country abruptly ended Sunday his return march to Dakar and forcibly returned him to his home in the capital.
This strange silence raised questions about whether he was placed under house arrest in his home, at a time when the authorities had not made any announcement regarding his situation.
And Sonko, who came third in the 2019 presidential elections and announced his intention to run in the 2024 elections, may lose his eligibility to run, as it is expected that on June 1 a ruling will be issued against him on charges of rape.
Sonko has always denied accusations of “rape and death threats”, speaking of a plot by the authorities to exclude him from the presidential elections.
And Sonko, who was in the south of the country during the trial period, began a march to return to Dakar on Friday, on a journey punctuated by clashes that resulted in the death of a man.
