Detention of religious leader sparks heavy violence in Senegal

 

Scores of devout Muslim youths sowed panic in Dakar on Monday as they smashed up dozens of cars in protest against the detention of a powerful religious leader or marabout.

Police fired teargas to break up the protesters who moved through the capital smashing the windows of parked cars as well as those driving past using rocks, sticks and other objects found on the road.
The protesters shouted “Free Bethio” in reference to Cheikh Bethio Thioune, a senior leader of the Mourides, Senegal‘s richest and most powerful Muslim brotherhood.
Street traders hastily swept up their wares and ran off as the angry protesters swarmed Independence Square in the heart of the capital, causing chaos as cars reversed and swerved to avoid projectiles.

Thioune was arrested on April 23 after the death of two of
his disciples during a brawl at his house the previous evening. Their bodies were found buried in the nearby bush.
He was charged with complicity to murder along with several of his followers.
Thioune’s followers, who have protested in recent days in the capital, were also implicated in violent protests during the country’s electoral campaign, when they supported former president Abdoulaye Wade.
Senegal is a 95 percent Muslim nation whose citizens follow one of four Sufi brotherhoods. The west African nation has a reputation for religious tolerance.

In Paris some 40 people gathered in front of the Senegalese embassy to protest their spiritual leader’s detention, attempting to force entry to the building and break windows, according to an embassy source.
The tyres of diplomatic vehicles parked in front of the building were punctured by the protesters.
The government warned later Monday that measures had been adopted to ensure no such violence could be repeated and accused “dark forces” of seeking to destabilise the country.

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