ROME, Dec 7 (Reuters) - A Senegalese woman set herself on fire at Rome's city hall on Friday in an apparent protest over a visit to Italy by Senegal's President Abdoulaye Wade.

The woman, identified by city officials as Kebe Peinda Gotha, was in critical condition after dousing herself in flammable liquid and setting herself ablaze.

Police who were on patrol in the square outside the city hall quickly put out the flames.

Dramatic images of the suicide attempt were captured on a closed-circuit security video and broadcast on Italian state television RAI's evening news.

"She wanted to kill herself at all costs," a police officer told RAI, adding the woman also wanted at one point to throw herself off a ledge.

Senegalese officials, asking not to be identified, said she had wanted to meet the president. Italian media reports described the woman, who lives in northern Italy, as an activist for the rights of Senegalese immigrants. (Writing by Phil Stewart; Editing by Giles Elgood)