February 24, 2000
DAKAR, Senegal (PANA) - There have been increasing reports of violence in parts of Senegal ahead of Sunday's presidential election that promises to be one of the hottest in the country.
After the death of four teenagers, run over by a car in the campaign convoy of one of the politicians, the house of a chieftain of President Abdou Diouf's Socialist Party was torched Wednesday night by people believed to be supporters of a rival party.
Police are still holding the driver of Jean-Paul Dias, leader of the Centrist Democratic Bloc, who ran over the four teenagers last week.
Dias is supporting the candidature of President Abdou Diouf.
On Wednesday night, another Diouf supporter and Mayor of Rufisque, Mbaye-Jacques Diop, had two of his houses torched by supporters of Abdoulaye Wade, the key opposition leader of the Senegalese Democratic Party.
The incident took place immediately after Wade's campaign rally passed through the town, some 20 km north of Dakar.
According to the local media, youths who had been waiting for the convoy were incensed when they heard gun shots fired from Diop's premises.
They immediately launched an assault on the building and set it on fire around 2100 GMT..
Diop, who was receiving French visitors at the time, accused Wade responsibility for the attacks.
"If this is how he wants to lead the country, he would be making a bid mistake,", he said. No deaths were reported.
However, Wade has dismissed the charges, saying the incident was a reaction to the attack on supporters of his party.
"I am ready to everything. But the PDS will never attack first," he added.
The local offices of the ruling Socialist Party the Senegalese Democratic Party were burnt down in similar incidents in the northern town of Saint Louis at the beginning of the three-week campaigns which end at midnight Friday.