Amnesty International said it had counted 23 people killed in unrest in Senegal last week after dissident Ousmane Sonko was sentenced to prison, and called for an independent investigation.
Through 18 interviews, documented videos, death certificates and autopsy reports attesting to gunshot wounds, Amnesty International has given a higher death toll than the authorities, denouncing excessive use of force as well as attacks on freedom of expression and the media.
According to the official tally, 16 people were killed in the violence, but Amnesty International said on Thursday in a statement that there were "23 dead according to our figures. A number of them were shot dead," she said, noting that they included three minors.
Sonko's party said 26 people had been killed in the unrest, Dakar Aktou quoted its spokesman, Malik Ndiaye, as saying.
Amnesty said it observed in videos it had verified of gunmen in civilian clothes next to police violently attacking protesters.
The organization's executive director in Senegal, Sidi Gassama, said in a statement that "the state must not allow the presence of unidentified individuals in the ranks of the security forces during law enforcement operations, and force should not be used. These are clear violations of international law."
The organization also denounced attacks on freedom of expression, as it described it. For several days, authorities blocked social media and mobile internet connections.
The unrest, the worst in years, occurred in Senegal between June 1 and June 3 after opposition figure Ousmane Sonko was sentenced to two years in prison in a morality case.
The government has previously justified the use of force as the need to restore order in the face of what it described as an attempt to destabilize the state.
AFP reported that authorities had banned two opposition marches scheduled for Friday and tomorrow against President Macky Sall, one for failing to meet deadlines for requesting permission and the other for risks of disturbing public order.