Violent Protests Result in 16 Deaths, Triggering One of Senegal’s Worst Civil Unrests in Decades. Senegal’s government has implemented a temporary suspension of mobile internet access in certain areas as a response to the violent riots that have plagued the country, according to an official statement released on Sunday. The government cited the dissemination of “hateful and subversive” messages online as a catalyst for the unrest. Over the past three days, Senegal has witnessed a wave of violent protests, resulting in the loss of 16 lives and marking one of the most severe episodes of civil unrest in the nation’s recent history...

Government Extends Internet Outage to Counteract Circulation of Detrimental Content on Messaging Platforms. Initially, the government had imposed restrictions on specific messaging platforms in an effort to mitigate the spread of inflammatory content. However, the outage was circumvented by many using virtual private networks (VPNs) to conceal their locations. Consequently, the government decided to broaden the internet shutdown on Sunday, encompassing all mobile data in select areas during specified hours.

The statement did not disclose the precise regions affected or the specific timeframes of the internet blackout. Nevertheless, the inability of five Reuters journalists located in Dakar to access the internet without a Wi-Fi connection on Sunday afternoon suggests a wider implementation of the measure, particularly during peak protest hours...

Protests Stem from Controversial Sentencing of Opposition Leader in a Rape Case. The catalyst for the ongoing unrest can be traced back to the sentencing of prominent opposition leader Ousmane Sonko in a rape case that dates back two years. Supporters of Sonko argue that his prosecution was politically motivated, and the opposition figure himself has vehemently denied any wrongdoing. While Sonko was acquitted of the rape charges on Thursday, he was found guilty in absentia of corrupting a minor and subsequently handed a two-year prison sentence. This conviction could potentially prevent him from participating in the upcoming presidential election scheduled for February. Consequently, Sonko’s followers have taken to the streets, responding to his call for challenging the authorities...