Senegal Reels After Student Death During University Clashes
Dakar, Senegal – Senegal is grappling with the aftermath of violent clashes at Cheikh Anta Diop University (UCAD) in Dakar, which resulted in the death of a medical student and prompted the closure of campus housing. The government acknowledged acts of violence by security forces while defending their intervention as a necessary response to escalating unrest.
Abdoulaye Ba, a second-year medical student, died during the protests on Monday, February 10, 2026. The unrest stemmed from long-standing student grievances over delayed financial aid stipends. Students have been rallying against these arrears for several years, a particularly sensitive issue in a country facing economic hardship, especially for young people.
Interior Minister Mouhamadou Bamba Cisse described the situation as a “tragedy” and stated that an investigation has been launched. He also admitted to witnessing acts of violence committed by both students and security forces, stating, “acts that condone.”
Videos circulating on social media depict chaotic scenes of police entering university grounds and deploying tear gas into buildings, while students responded by throwing stones. Authorities have detained 105 students at a central police station in Dakar, according to a student group.
The government maintains that the police intervention was justified due to intelligence suggesting plans to attack university infrastructure. Minister Cisse stated that security forces received “precise intelligence indicating that certain individuals were planning to attack university infrastructure,” and that a food hall had already been targeted Monday morning. He also claimed that some students were found in possession of tear gas grenades and Molotov cocktails.
Forty-eight law enforcement officers were reportedly injured during the clashes, though the number of student injuries remains unconfirmed.
The student association collective alleges that Ba was “brutally tortured to death by police officers,” a claim that remains unverified.
The Minister of Higher Education, Daouda Ngom, attributed the protests to a misunderstanding regarding the payment of stipends, suggesting a simple change in the system to align the academic and disbursement calendars was the root cause. He also questioned the legitimacy of some student leaders, citing the prolonged studies of one prominent figure. “One of the most prominent within the Amicales of UCAD is, for example, 31 years old and has not yet finished his master’s… He has been at UCAD for ten years, since 2016!” Ngom stated.
The collective of Amicales of UCAD has announced its intention to file a complaint against the Senegalese authorities regarding Ba’s death. A spokesperson for the coordination of students in Saint-Louis, Amadou Ba, called on authorities to “take their responsibilities” and engage in constructive dialogue with student representatives. “We invite them to reconsider their position and invite student representatives to a constructive dialogue so that we can together endorse the reforms in a concerted manner,” he said.
In response to the unrest, authorities have closed the UCAD campus until further notice. This has forced thousands of students to leave their residences, many traveling long distances to return home, leaving their studies disrupted and their future uncertain.
“We are leaving with sadness,” said Amadou Diallo, a student traveling to Tambacounda, over 500 kilometers away. “It’s a decision that bothers me because we were in the middle of preparing for the February exams, I was revising. Now, everything is interrupted.”
Another student, Moctar, expressed frustration at the disruption to his studies, while a third voiced disappointment with the current government, stating, “What the leaders did on Monday is deplorable, really. They are worse than Macky Sall because they promised to protect us.”
