Senegal Shuts Consulates Abroad, After Attacks On Missions In US And EU
Senegal has temporarily closed its consulates abroad following attacks on diplomatic missions in Bordeaux, Milan, Paris and new York among others.
The foreign affairs ministry said in a statement on Tuesday that the precautionary measure followed “a series of aggression that caused serious damage”.
It said the consulate in Milan had been particularly hard hit, with passport-making machines and identity cards damaged.
The closures come amid political tensions in Senegal following the sentencing of opposition leader Ousmane Sonko last week to two years in prison which led to deadly protests.
Italian media reported on Monday that about 40 Sonko supporters had gathered outside the consulate with flags and anti-government signs – breaking in and ransacking the offices before the police intervened.
Senegal’s foreign ministry says consulate services will resume “as soon as material and security conditions allow”.
Services will resume once working materials and security are ready, it added.
Italy’s public broadcaster Rai News reported an assault on Milan’s consulate on Monday during which it said around
40 Sonko supporters gathered outside the building with flags and anti-government signs.
They broke in and ransacked the premises, attacked the consul general and started a fire before police intervened.
Read Also:
Ukraine Accuses Russia Of Blowing Up Dam At Its Major Hydro Electric Plant
On Friday, videos on social media showed a small group of protesters in Paris throwing flour at a Senegal embassy car and its passengers. Reuters did not verify the footage.
Sonko’s Pastef party has repeatedly urged supporters to take to the streets in strongly-worded statements that have also called on the diaspora to join the “resistance”.
The legal issues embroiling Sonko first triggered protests in 2021, when he was briefly detained on rape charges he and his supporters denounce as a political ploy to prevent him from running.
The government and justice system deny this.
Judges cleared him of rape last week but found him guilty of “corrupting youth” as the accusations involved a woman who was 20 at the time.
Sonko, who has become the face of growing frustration against President Macky Sall, is appealing the outcome of a separate libel case that could also hinder his political intentions.
Rights groups have accused security forces of using excessive force and firing live ammunition rounds at demonstrators, which they deny.
Meanwhile the Senegalese government has restored access to mobile internet across the country on Tuesday,
