SENEGALESE groups have called on the government to bring about calm following days of the deadliest violence in years.

Clashes between security forces and supporters of opposition leader Ousmane Sonko have killed at least 16 people and injured hundreds of others. 

Police have arrested 500 people, some of whom used Molotov cocktails and weapons.

Alioune Tine, founder of Afrikajom Centre, a West African think tank, said on Monday: “(There’s) the threat of chaos. The threat of civil war.

“We have never ever lived this situation in Senegal.”

He said: “We cannot go fighting among ourselves and we have to stop now to make peace and be united.”

The clashes first broke out last Thursday after Mr Sonko was convicted of corrupting youth but acquitted on charges of raping a woman who worked at a massage parlour and making death threats against her. 

Mr Sonko, who didn’t attend his trial in Dakar, was sentenced to two years in prison.

His supporters maintain his legal troubles are part of a government effort to derail his candidacy in the 2024 presidential election. Under Senegalese law, Mr Sonko’s conviction could bar him from running.

At the heart of the unrest are fears that President Macky Sall will run for a third term. The constitution limits presidents to two five-year terms. But President Sall argues that a constitutional reform adopted in 2016 allows him to reset the clock and seek another term.

“My massive worry is that we are only on the premises of the violence cycle in Senegal as the (possible) announcement of a third mandate run by Macky Sall could trigger a massive popular uprising and violence Senegal has never seen so far,” Middle East Institute researcher Guillaume Soto-Mayor said.

One victim of the clashes was Elhaji Cisse who was walking home after praying at the mosque on Friday evening when he was shot and killed.

“Elhaji was not a demonstrator. He was a good patriot. He was interested in everything that was happening in the country. Then the gendarmes were there and they shot,” said Djimbala Ba, his brother.

While many Senegalese want the upheaval to end, others say they’ll continue protesting until there’s justice.

“The government wants to prevent our leader from being a candidate. We do not accept,” said Malang Coly, a supporter of Mr Sonko. 

“We will fight even if the government has arrested many of our comrades. We will continue to denounce. If the opportunity arises, we will demonstrate.”