Protests after Senegal opposition leader arrested
Violent protests have hit Senegal for a third day as demonstrators burnt cars and clashed with police following the arrest of an opposition leader about Wednesday.
Four persons have died in the rare unrest, the interior minister said.
Ousmane Sonko appeared found in court on Friday accused of disrupting public order. He likewise faces a rape allegation.
He denies the allegations and his supporters mention the accusations are politically motivated.
On Friday Interior Minister Antoine Felix Abdoulaye Diome vowed to use "all of the means necessary for a go back to order".
Speaking on national Television, Mr Diome accused Mr Sonko of "issuing telephone calls to violence".
UN Secretary-Basic Antonio Guterres has urged protesters and police to avoid violence in the country which is among West Africa's most steady countries.
On Friday law enforcement fired tear gas at Mr Sonko's supporters, who create makeshift barricades in the administrative centre Dakar where the floor was covered in burnt debris and persons chanted "Free Sonko".
Police blocked motorbikes and mopeds, which are actually popular among Mr Sonko's little supporters, from the city's streets. A supermarket in Dakar's suburbs was raided on Friday, regarding to AFP news company.
"What we are living through in this nation is incredible, it really is shameful," one protester told Reuters news agency.
Demonstrators have gathered found in the city's surrounding areas and in the southern city of Bignona, a stronghold of Mr Sonko.
Two private TV stations that covered the protests have been suspended for 72 hours by the federal government.
On Thursday Internet screen NetBlocks said access to social media and messaging programs was restricted.
The United Nations' specialized envoy for West Africa Mohamed Ibn Chambas has appealed for relaxed.
A few of the protesters possess targeted French-owned businesses such as for example supermarkets and petrol stations because they state that under President Macky Sall, France has extended its financial interests in its ex - colony.
Mr Sonko, 46, was accused of rape in February by a female who worked in a beauty salon.
Following a study he was arrested about Wednesday and taken up to court along with a group of supporters.
Police said they then arrested him for disrupting public buy when he refused to improve his path to the court.
Mr Sonko says the allegations of rape are actually fabricated. He accuses President Sall of hoping to eliminate potential opponents prior to the 2024 election. Two additional opposition leaders were excluded from the 2019 election after staying convicted on charges that they say were politically motivated.
There are reports that Mr Sall may seek to improve the constitution to permit him to run for a third term.
Mr Sonko may be the president's sole remaining serious challenger, BBC Afrique's Ndèye Khady Lo found in Dakar says.
She explains that the opposition politician is particularly favored by young Senegalese for his promise of radical opposition from what he calls "the machine".
In 2014 he founded his own political get together, Pastef-Les Patriotes, and came third in the 2019 presidential election with 15% of the vote.
In a video recorded and shared on social mass media in 2018, Mr Sonko told activists: "There is enormous potential in this country. It is unacceptable to see struggling of our people.
"Our politicians will be criminals. Anyone who has ruled Senegal from the beginning deserve to become shot."
