Dakar, 11 March, 2021 / 5:30 pm (ACI Africa).
The ongoing violence in Senegal that started last week is a cause for concern for Catholic Bishops in the Ecclesiastical Province of Dakar who are calling on parties in conflict to “foster dialogue” and end the skirmishes.
Violence broke out in Senegal’s capital, Dakar, on March 3 when opposition member, Ousmane Sonko, who was headed to court in the company of his supporters to answer to rape charges, was arrested for disrupting public order after he, alongside his supporters, refused to change the route to the court.
At least five people, including a 17-year-old school boy, have been killed in the protests while property including the French businesses, Auchan, Total and Eiffage, have been torched. Schools in the country have also been closed until March 15 due to the violence.
“Let us stop the spiral of violence! While there is still time, let's try to limit the damage, and even stop it,” the Catholic Bishops in the Metropolitan of Dakar say in their Monday, March 8 statement that was also read at a press conference.
They call on the parties in conflict in the West African country to “foster dialogue, which is only possible in a context of peace and serenity.”