Red railings frame the Place de la Nation in the Senegalese capital. Behind, several police armored vehicles and men in kepis stand guard.

It is here that the Senegalese met on social networks on Friday February 9, wishing to protest against the postponement of the presidential election. Interrupted by President Macky Sall, the vote was postponed to December 15 by the National Assembly.

Police officers block Place de la Nation in Dakar. ©David Rich

“We closed at 10 a.m. as a precaution,” explains a teacher from the school on an adjacent street. This Friday, several other schools remained closed in the capital, as a sign of protest.

At 2:30 p.m., a stream headed towards the barricades. This is the exit from prayer. Dozens of people, folded carpets in their hands, are asked to turn around, forced to take the small streets to return home.

Facing the square, a restaurant closes its iron curtains. “There have already been several demonstrations here, in 2021 I have had a lot of breakups. When the police block, young people infiltrate and there are clashes” explains the boss.

“Human rights are important in Senegal”

At 3 p.m., the scheduled time of the gathering, a compact group approaches, to the sound of horns and whistles. The police cars blockade and the first shots of tear gas are fired.

“Senegal has become a dictatorship, we wanted to demonstrate peacefully but we cannot” deplores a young man in a white shirt, the color chosen for the occasion by the demonstrators.

Demonstrators try to reach the Place de la Nation. ©David Rich

“Macky Sall built infrastructure, ok. But human rights are important in Senegal.”

Read alsoIn Dakar, the Senegalese between resignation and anger after the postponement of the presidential election

“Ousmane Sonko warned us about who Macky Sall really was, today history proves him right. The president only strengthens the opposition” says another demonstrator. “We want him to respect the constitution and leave power at the end of his term on April 3.”

Fires and stone throwing

Groups of men and women dressed in surgical masks rush into the small streets, trying to get around the blockage. Insults are flying against Macky Sall: “Dictator! Get out!”

Black smoke spreads above the buildings. “The violence has already started, they are burning tires and throwing stones,” explains an armored police officer.

Fires block several roads around Place de la Nation. ©David Rich

Behind the mosque, men light fires with whatever they find, tires, boards... The situation becomes confusing. Demonstrators throw concrete blocks, run, disappear into the thick black smoke.

Black smoke invades a street behind a mosque in Dakar. ©David Rich

Further away, sheltered from the smoke, a man is being treated for a knee injury. It was the police who did this, he was returning from the mosque, they fired a tear gas canister at him and he fell!” denounces a neighbor who witnessed the scene. A member of the International Red Cross, present to assist in case of overflow, bandage his wound. 

A man injured in the knee receives treatment from a member of the International Red Cross. ©David Rich

On the other side of the square, men in civilian clothes with tear gas cannons come out of a van. Police officers are called in for reinforcements.

The little game of cat and mouse continues all around the square. On a bench in front of the mosque, two old gentlemen, masks over their noses, observe the comings and goings.

“You have to film everything,” asserts one of them. “It’s serious what’s happening in our country.”

Two elderly men observe the clashes in the Senegalese capital from a distance. ©David Rich

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