Senegal bows to pressure, suspends overnight curfew

Senegalese government on Thursday announced that it would relax slightly an overnight curfew across the country following protests that have spread to Dakar, the country’s capital.

The growing unrest in Dakar saw protesters take to the streets, hurling stones at the police and setting tyres on fire in demonstration against the restrictions imposed almost 3 months ago over the COVID-19 pandemic.

Earlier before the unrest in Dakar on Wednesday, protesters had similar demonstrations in the holy city of Touba the previous night. Crowds of protesters torched an ambulance, threw rocks and looted office buildings.

Touba’s main streets were littered with charred remains of tyres and broken branches of trees after the protest.

A local with the name Habibatou resident in Dakar’s Grand Yoff neighbourhood said they (people) wanted Macky Sall (President) to know that most people in Senegal are poor and three months at home was too much.

She said, “Although coronavirus is an infectious disease, the President should know that people are poor to stay at home for three months.

“While I did not approve of youths taking to the streets after curfew and throwing rocks at the police, the President needs to listen, and to help people.”

This is the first major opposition to Senagal’s government handling of the pandemic. Commercial activities have been affected by measures like dawn-to-dusk curfew and a ban on inter-regional travel.

However, Interior Minister, Aly Ngouille Ndiaye, on Thursday told a news conference that the curfew would be shortened by 2 hours (changed to 11p.m.-5a.m.) while a ban on inter-regional travel would be lifted.

The West African country has recorded 4,000 cases and 45 deaths from of COVID-19. The main cities of Dakar and Touba, being the country’s economic hub and major pilgrimage destination, have been worst hit.

President Macky Sall has responded through Transport Minister Oumar Youm who said government would give 3 billion CFA francs ($5.17million) to sectors that had been hit particularly hard by the crisis, including taxi drivers.

An ambulance belonging to a coronavirus treatment centre was set on fire during the demonstrations in Touba on Tuesday night.

“This frightened us. It is certainly the consequences of the state of emergency and the lockdown,” district administrator Mansour Daillo said.