According to a local authority, a 15-year-old girl was killed and roughly 30 people were wounded during clashes between protestors and police officers in Dakar, Senegal’s capital, on Tuesday night.
Tensions have been increasing in the densely populated Ngor area as a result of a property dispute. Locals want to build a school in the region, while officials want to build a police station.
They happened amid a time of tremendous turmoil in Senegal, one of West Africa’s most stable democracies prior to President Macky Sall’s refusal to rule out running for a third term and court proceedings involving a popular political competitor.
Riot police were stationed around gas stations and major intersections in Dakar’s northern districts on Wednesday morning.
Ngor’s first deputy mayor, Souleye Mbengue, stated that the turmoil in the city had been building for days, but that things had gotten out of hand when gendarmes barred citizens from entering or leaving the beachfront district. Protesters set fires, and police fired tear gas to put them out.
During the mayhem, one young lady was apparently killed. “When the police stopped people from coming and going, that’s when things got worse,” he stated.
A request for a police response to the violence and casualties remained unanswered. According to the interior ministry, the body of a young lady with a head wound was recovered on Ngor beach.
The statement claimed, “She was washed ashore by the waves and was fatally injured in the water, probably by a boat propeller,” but made no mention of the previous battle on the same beach.
A second small kid has died, and Mbengue said he is investigating accusations from villages that real bullets were fired at demonstrators.
Mbengue said that officials from Ngor met with President Sall late Tuesday, and it was agreed that the disputed property would be split between the police and the local authorities.
We’re hoping for a break in the tension. We’ll keep negotiating with the authorities until they agree to let us open a school.
Sall has guided Senegal to prosperity since becoming president in 2012, creating infrastructure such as highways and stadiums. The fish and peanut exporter is planning major oil and gas developments.
Many individuals, however, are dissatisfied since they do not have access to proper medical care, schools, or hygienic facilities.
