At least nine people were killed in Senegal in clashes between riot police and supporters of opposition leader Ousmane Sonko following a court sentencing him to two years in jail, the country’s interior ministry said. Clashes broke out after Thursday’s verdict, which may disqualify Sonko, President Macky Sall’s fiercest opponent, from contesting next year’s presidential election. Cars and buses were set alight in the capital Dakar and disturbances were reported elsewhere, including the city of Ziguinchor, where Sonko has been mayor since 2022.

Sonko, 48, did not attend the hearing over an alleged sexual assault where he was accused of raping a woman who worked in a massage parlour in 2021, when she was 20, and making death threats against her. He denied wrongdoing and said the charges were politically motivated.