- Prostitutes, prospectors drive spread in DR Congo mpox capital
- Oil extends rally after Iran attack, Hong Kong resumes surge
- Extreme heat another form of death sentence in Texas jails
- Can music help plants grow? Study suggests sound boosts fungus
- Nike earnings drop, says turnaround will take time
- US dockworkers launch mass strike a month before election
- Iron Dome: Israel's key anti-missile shield
- Cranes stand still as US dockworkers fight for 'future'
- GM reports US sales dip, but says EVs grew
- Sheinbaum takes office as Mexico's first woman president
- Webb telescope detects carbon dioxide on Pluto's largest moon
- Stock markets slump, oil jumps on Middle East concerns
- French PM vows more taxes and spending cuts ahead of budget fight
- Germany inaugurates IBM's first European quantum data centre
- Stock markets diverge as eurozone inflation drops further
- France's richest man takes control of Paris Match magazine
- Anger meets tear gas as Nigeria hardship protests fizzle out
- US dockworkers launch mass strike month before election
- Evacuations from Lebanon: what we know
- Feathers fly at Chanel's Paris fashion return
- UAE oil giant ADNOC swoops on German chemicals firm Covestro
- Eurozone inflation falls under 2% for first time since 2021
- Coldplay ticket scalping fiasco sparks backlash in India
- Droughts drive Spanish boom in pistachio farming
- Tokyo recovers some losses to lead Asian markets higher
- Rural schools empty in North Macedonia due to exodus
- US dockworkers launch strike after labor contract expires
- Thousands evacuated as Super Typhoon Krathon approaches Taiwan
- Kenya airport whistleblower fears for his life
- Sheinbaum to take office as Mexico's first woman president
- Scientists fear underfunded Argentina research on verge of collapse
- US port officials gird for strike despite last-minute bargaining
- With 118 dead from Hurricane Helene, Biden defends US government response
- Breeder who tried to create enormous trophy sheep jailed in US
- Qatar Airways seeking 25% stake in Virgin Australia
- US port officials gird for strike as labor talks stay stuck
- As toll crosses 100, Trump puts Hurricane Helene at election center stage
- US Fed Chair sees 'further disinflation' in economy
- Epic Games sues Google and Samsung over app store
- Officials see no shortages from likely US port strike
- UK families of Gaza hostages warn Lebanon attack 'takes focus away'
- Shares in Stellantis, Aston Martin skid on profit warnings
- Dali prints found in London garage sold at auction
- ECB chief backs bank mergers amid UniCredit, Commerzbank talk
- China stocks soar on stimulus, but US and Europe retreat
- 100 dead in storm Helene damage, flooding across US southeast
- China stocks soar on stimulus, Europe slides on automaker woes
- German antitrust watchdog steps up monitoring of Microsoft
- Nepal's urban poor count cost of 'nightmare' floods
- E.Guinea, Gabon clash at ICJ over oil-rich islands
Senegal probing feared homophobic attack by mob
Senegalese police said Wednesday they were probing a possible anti-gay attack by a mob, an incident coinciding with a storm over a football star's apparent refusal to join a campaign against homophobia in Europe.
Videos began circulating Tuesday evening showing a crowd in the centre of the capital Dakar beating a man and hurling homophobic insults at him.
Anti-LGBTQ rhetoric has increased on social media in Senegal since Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) footballer and Senegalese international Idrissa Gana Gueye's alleged refusal to wear a rainbow jersey during a match in France on Saturday.
Despite facing criticism in France, Gueye has received a flood of support in Senegal, including the backing of President Macky Sall.
In several videos posted to YouTube and TikTok, an angry mob of several dozen people can be seen in broad daylight surrounding a barefoot young man wearing only boxer shorts.
They are seen holding him firmly by the wrists and slapping his back and head as blood trickles down his neck and chest.
A member of the crowd is heard shouting in Wolof: "Homosexuality will not be accepted in Senegal," while another calls the man a "dirty homosexual" and says, "let us kill him before the police arrive."
Another person is heard shouting: "He does not deserve to live."
In one clip, a crowd uttering homophobic slurs gathers in front of a police station in the HLM neighbourhood in the centre of Dakar.
A police officer on Wednesday told AFP journalists that the young man had been brought there the day before. No information was given on his condition.
A witness to the incident told AFP that he believed the young man was a foreigner and "around 100" people had hauled him to the police station.
He "was bleeding from injuries to the head and feet," the witness said.
An online investigation shows that the videos, viewed several thousand times, are recent, although the time and date are unclear. AFP has not been able to establish their source.
A police official, also speaking on condition of anonymity given the sensitivity of the case, confirmed on Wednesday that an investigation was underway.
In many parts of Africa, same-sex relations are taboo or even criminalised.
In Senegal, where 95 percent of the population is Muslim, so-called "unnatural acts" with a person of the same sex are punishable by law with one to five years in prison.
Members of the LGBTQ community say attacks and homophobic incidents have increased in recent years, with a number of people fleeing the country.
D.Goldberg--CPN