On Sunday, hundreds of demonstrators gathered in Dakar, Senegal’s capital city, to protest Israel’s military operations in Gaza and Lebanon. Organized by local civil society groups and pro-Palestinian activists, this march called for an immediate ceasefire as well as to have diplomatic relations severed with Israel.
Protesters carrying Palestinian flags and placards denounced what they described as genocide in Gaza, with chants of “Free Palestine” and “Stop the war” echoing through central Dakar streets as they moved through. Some participants advocated for sit-in protests outside Israel’s embassy as they moved through Dakar. Africanews + 2
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This demonstration was part of a series of pro-Palestinian rallies held in Dakar over the past year, starting in May 2024 when hundreds of protestors demonstrated outside of the Palestinian Embassy and again in November 2023 when 200 gathered near Grand Mosque to show solidarity with Palestinians. Wikipedia +Africanews
Protests take place amid rising violence across the Middle East. Israel’s military campaign in Gaza has resulted in hundreds of civilian casualties and widespread destruction, while spillover into southern Lebanon has raised international concern.
Yassine Fall, Senegalese Foreign Minister, strongly condemned Israeli actions and labeled them genocide, noting Senegal’s long history of supporting Palestine by sitting as chairperson of the UN Committee for the Exercise of Inalienable Rights of Palestinian People since 1975.
Senegalese authorities recently repatriated 117 citizens from Lebanon due to its worsening conflict, including Hussein Hachem who lost his 14-year-old son in an explosion. Fall expressed her discontent at witnessing genocide happening right under our noses, calling for international action.
As violence escalates in Gaza and Lebanon, Senegalese citizens continue to express their opposition and advocate for peace through demonstrations in Dakar – reflecting a larger regional concern over humanitarian needs unfolding in the Middle East.
