The consulates will reopen “when material and security conditions allow it”, indicates the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in a press release published on Tuesday.
The Senegalese government announced on Tuesday that it was temporarily closing its consulates general abroad following attacks against a number of them amid heightened tensions on the national territory.
“This precautionary measure follows the series of attacks recently perpetrated against the diplomatic and consular missions of Senegal abroad, in particular in Paris, Bordeaux, Milan and New York”, indicated the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in a press release published. on social networks.
He reports “serious damage”, especially in Milan where the machines for producing passports and identity cards were, according to him, destroyed. The consulates will reopen “when the material and security conditions allow it”, he said.
Human Rights Watch calls for an investigation
This closure deprives hundreds of thousands of Senegalese abroad of consular services such as assistance or the issuance of passports.
Between June 1 and 3, Senegal experienced its worst troubles in years after opponent Ousmane Sonko was sentenced to two years in prison in a sex scandal. This conviction of a personality popular in youth and underprivileged circles makes him in the current state ineligible for the presidential election of 2024.
Ousmane Sonko has continued to cry out for the conspiracy of power to exclude him from the election, which the power refutes. The sentence sparked clashes that left at least 16 people dead and considerable damage. It also gave rise to demonstrations abroad.
The rights NGO Human Rights Watch called for the immediate opening of an “independent and credible” investigation into the violence.
She also noted in a statement that “excessive use of force and arbitrary arrests” have become common since 2021, and that in recent months authorities have “cracked down opposition members, the media and the dissent”. She sees in the recent outburst a “worrying sign” in view of the presidential election.
Source: BFM TV
