Students in Senegal clash with security forces over financial aid

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By Ngouda Dione

DAKAR, Dec 3 (Reuters) – Clashes between students and security forces at Senegal’s main university intensified on Wednesday as protesters demanded stipends and other financial aid amid the government’s ongoing fiscal challenges.

Authorities at Cheikh Anta Diop University in the heart of the capital requested help from law enforcement to ensure safety as rock-throwing students clashed with security forces, who responded with tear gas.

The unrest comes as the West African nation struggles with a severe financial strain and a debt burden that the International Monetary Fund says is equal to 132% of its gross domestic product.

Pape Demba Niane, a third-year student at the faculty of legal and political sciences, said students were trying to engage in discussions when the police entered the campus.

“We are afraid… Several students are currently injured and the medical service is unable to cope with the influx,” Niane told Reuters.

‘UNIVERSITIES IN TURMOIL’

Demba Ka, president of one of the campus associations, said students had tried to hold peaceful demonstrations for 13 months without gaining attention from authorities.

“We appealed to the president of the Republic and the prime minister, who are aware that the country is unstable and that the universities are in turmoil,” he said, adding that the state did not listen to their demands.

Ka said the government instead made things worse by sending police officers to the campus. The university is large, with almost 90,000 students enrolled in 2024, according to the school’s website.

“We didn’t expect this government to sacrifice young people who fought for them to become leaders of this country!”

Prime Minister Ousmane Sonko, an alumnus of the university, had pledged to combat unemployment, corruption, and elitism.

However, since he took office in April last year, alongside President Bassirou Diomaye Faye, the administration has faced criticism from opposition parties for its handling of growing social and economic challenges.

An audit initiated by the new administration revealed a wider-than-reported debt burden and budget deficit inherited from the previous government. Talks with the IMF over a new financial program have made slow progress, and authorities are dealing with mounting public discontent and a challenging fiscal outlook.

(Writing by Anait MiridzhanianEditing by Bate Felix and Frances Kerry)