According to the interior ministry, nine people were killed in skirmishes across Senegal on Friday after a court sentenced fiery opposition leader Ousmane Sonko to two years in prison.
A conviction for "corrupting youth" could bar Sonko, President Macky Sall's main rival, from running in next year's presidential election.
Senegal has been bitterly split by the case, prompting sporadic but lethal rioting that has harmed the country's image of stability.
Following the verdict on Thursday, police and demonstrators clashed, buses were set ablaze in Dakar, and disruptions were reported elsewhere, including Ziguinchor, where Sonko has been mayor since 2022.
Did you read this?
On the condition of anonymity, two police officers told AFP that at least three of the killings occurred during rallies in Ziguinchor and that a policeman was stoned to death by young protestors in the capital.
Sonko, a career civil servant, rose to prominence in the 2019 presidential elections, finishing third following a campaign that targeted Sall and the country's ruling elite.
He paints Sall as corrupt and a would-be tyrant, but the president's supporters dismiss Sonko as a rabble-rouser who has sowed discord.
His initial arrest in 2021 on rape charges spurred caused violence that left at least 12 people dead.
The 48-year-old did not attend the trial and was absent when the verdict was read on Thursday.
He was thought to be in his Dakar residence, where he had been barred from entering after being detained over the weekend.
The court did not decide on whether or not he should be arrested. However, after two years of conflict with the government, the leader of the PASTEF-Patriots party could now be detained "at any time," according to Justice Minister Ismaila Madior Fall.
After the Dakar criminal court issued its verdict, Sonko's party called on Senegalese people to "take to the streets".
The Dakar University campus was transformed into something resembling a battleground. Stones were thrown at police in riot gear by groups of young youths.
Several buses from the faculty of medicine, history, and the country's renowned journalism school were set on fire, and offices were plundered. Classes have been cancelled till further notice.
Young protestors attacked a public transportation ticket office and other public property elsewhere, torching tires and erecting roadblocks.
The presidential party headquarters had been "ransacked," according to Satire Mbaye, a presidential party official in the Dakar suburb of Keur Massar.
There was also unrest in other parts of the West African state, including Casamance in the south, Mbour and Kaolack in the west, and St Louis in the north.
In Senegal, late Thursday, several social media and communications sites, including WhatsApp, Instagram, and YouTube, faced severe access limitations.
Sonko has maintained his innocence and alleges the president is attempting to derail his political career by manipulating the judiciary, which the government rejects.
The beauty salon owner, Ndeye Khady Ndiaye, was sentenced to two years in prison for inciting debauchery but cleared of involvement in the rape.
She and Sonko must pay a fine of 600,000 CFA francs ($980) and the plaintiff 20 million CFA francs ($33,000) in damages.
