NetBlocks said social media and messaging apps like Facebook, WhatsApp and Youtube had been restricted early Friday in a planned rally by civil society and opposition parties led by the protest movement “Y In A Marre “(Enough is enough).
Sonko, a 46-year-old tax inspector who finished third with 15% of the vote in the 2019 presidential election, enjoys widespread support among young Senegalese. He faces interrogation after his parliamentary immunity was revoked last week.
While not immune to political unrest, it has been several years since Senegal, one of West Africa’s most stable democracies, has seen such a violent confrontation between protesters and authorities.
“We call on the Senegalese authorities to respect the freedom of peaceful assembly throughout the country,” said Samira Daoud, regional director of Amnesty International’s rights group.
Amnesty expressed concern over what it said was a wave of arbitrary arrests in a crackdown that has resulted in the suspension of two private television channels for 72 hours for their coverage of the protests.
The streets of Dakar were quiet early Friday. Some had been cleared of rubble and burned tires since the previous day, when protesters threw rocks at riot police who fired tear gas and tear gas in response.
Protecting the protests, some schools and shops were closed after looting and destruction in several neighborhoods of the capital.