Senegal’s Prime Minister, Ousmane Sonko, is set to embark on an official visit to Morocco on Monday following the detention of Senegalese supporters after unrest at the Africa Cup of Nations final, officials said, with 18 Senegalese fans currently in pre-trial detention in Morocco facing charges of hooliganism stemming from the January 18 final in which Senegal defeated Morocco 1–0 after extra time; their trial, which opened on Thursday at a Rabat court, has been postponed to January 29, as Sonko’s visit takes place within the framework of a joint commission between the two countries scheduled for Monday and Tuesday, according to a source at Senegal’s foreign ministry, amid longstanding cooperative relations between Senegal and Morocco across tourism, energy, infrastructure and transport sectors, as well as shared religious ties, while a Moroccan-Senegalese economic forum is also planned during the visit, the Moroccan news agency MAP reported, with Morocco’s King Mohammed VI having expressed regret over the incidents and Sonko calling for tensions to be defused even as rival supporters continue to exchange barbs on social media.
