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| toubab1020 |
Posted - 05 Feb 2021 : 15:39:27
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https://standard.gm/casamance-rebels-accuse-army-of-re-starting-war0/
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Casamance rebels accuse army of ‘re-starting’ war
The Standard: February 5, 2021
The long-running conflict in the Casamance has flared up after a years-long lull, with rebels on Wednesday accusing the army of being the aggressors in the province.
The conflict in Casamance, which is separated from the rest of Senegal by The Gambia, has claimed thousands of lives since it first broke out in 1982.
The army said it launched its operation on January 26th to “secure” the region.
Witnesses have reported gunfire around the main city, Ziguinchor, near the border with Guinea-Bissau, according to the Senegalese press.
Villagers in Guinea-Bissau, contacted by AFP, said on Wednesday they had heard loud explosions across the border.
A top military official told AFP on condition of anonymity that an operation was under way “against armed groups” based in the Bilass forest.
The goal is to “help and make people safe so they can carry out their activities peacefully,” he said.
“At the same time, we are fighting illicit trafficking in timber and cannabis” – believed to be main sources of revenue for rebels of the Casamance Movement of Democratic Forces (MFDC) – he added.
More than a week into the operation, the army has not reported on its progress or given a casualty toll.
An army official however denied a claim by the MFDC that three soldiers have been killed.
The rebels for their part on Wednesday accused Dakar of “restarting the war in Casamance”, in a message on their news website Le Pays (The Country).
“There will be no compromise with those who set fires and spill blood in Casamance,” it warned.
But on the ground, an MFDC fighter reached by telephone from Bissau said the rebels were on the back foot against the army’s advance.
He said the army has been “bombarding us nonstop for two days”, adding that a helicopter and a warplane joined the operation on Wednesday.
His claims could not be independently verified.
Recent years have seen a return to relative calm, with the 2012 election of President Macky Sall bringing about several attempts at peace.
Re-elected in 2019, Sall has made achieving “definitive peace” in Casamance a priority of his second term as president of the West African country. |
| 3 L A T E S T R E P L I E S (Newest First) |
| toubab1020 |
Posted - 12 Feb 2021 : 11:41:44
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https://foroyaa.net/the-senegalese-leadership-should-rethink/
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The Senegalese Leadership Should Rethink
Foroyaa EDITORIAL February 11, 2021
The coincidence of military onslaught against MFDC near the Guinea Bissau border and the current tension in mainstream Senegalese political landscape which emanates from the state handling of allegations against Hon. Sonko who is a Parliamentarian could have serious security implications that the Senegalese Government should take into consideration.
Two developments had stabilised the situation in Casamance to a certain degree. The projects which sought to end the isolation of Casamance has facilitated the integration of the people into mainstream Senegalese politics.
Secondly, the support Sonko received from Senegalese of diverse ethnolinguistic origin served to promote national unity.
Peace in Casamance that is a by-product of the promotion of socio-economic development and national unity that is a by-product of an indigene of Casamance being well placed in Senegal’s mainstream politics are trajectories that should be maintained if Senegal is to protect its national security and by extension the national security of the Gambia. Peace and stability in Senegal are of interest to her closest neighbour, the Gambia. |
| toubab1020 |
Posted - 10 Feb 2021 : 18:03:42
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https://www.chronicle.gm/after-ten-days-of-pillonnage-senegal-army-chase-mfdc-rebels-from-south-east-casamance/
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After Ten Days Of Pillonnage, Senegal Army Chase MFDC Rebels From South-East Casamance
by:Fredwric Tendeng
The Chronicle: Feb 10, 2021
The last four historic bases of Casamance rebels of Mouvement des forces Démocratiques de Casamance (MFDC), located on the southern front of the region, along the border with Guinea Bissau, are now under the full control of the Senegalese National Army. On Tuesday, Senegal’s army Colonel Souleymane Kandé, commander of Ziguinchor’s military zone 5, took journalists on a visit tour of the bases stripped from the Casamance rebellion.
“These are the bases of Bamoune-Bilass, Boussoloum, Badiong and Sikoune, the first historical bases of the MFDC that we have now neutralized” Colonel Kandé said.
The command of Senegal’s military in zone 5 of Ziguinchor launched a major operation on January 25th to dislodge the rebels. According to the army, the aim is to create favorable conditions for the return of displaced populations to the home villages abandoned for some thirty years.
Hectars of cannabis abandoned by MFDC fighters before the arrival of the Senegalese troops in Badiong
To this effect, Senegal deployed a strong military force made up of the 3rd Commando Battalion from Thiès, the 3rd Infantry Battalion from Kaolack, a detachment of Military engineers from Bargny, the 5th Infantry battalion from Ziguinchor and a Parachute Battalion to combat the rebels. It took about 10 days to these troops to dislodge the rebels in the area and dismantle the large hectars of cannabis fields they’ve developed over the dozens of years staying in the bush to sustain their economy.
Visiting the MFDC lost areas, the Senegalese soldiers took a group of journalists from Senegal’s National Road RN6 which leads to Kolda via Balantacounda. The group went near the village of Agnack Petit, a laterite track that crosses the villages of Niabina, Mawa and Camaracounda.
Through a bumpy way, the Senegalese Military Engineers detachment opened a path to an access route through the buffer zone before the embedded journalists reached to what was the MFDC combatants’ bases.
Samick and Niadhiou are two villages that recently suffered armed incursions by armed men suspected to be MFDC rebels. These two villages are the only signs of a human presence in the area. In the middle of a luxuriant and dense forest appears debris of makeshift dwellings.
Senegalese soldiers showing items abandoned by MFDC fighters as the flee their historic basement
What has become for decades the ancient mythical rebel base of Badiong is now left with sections of palisades yellowed by time, worn mattresses, pieces of faded clothes, empty cans, a few stones, grenades, rows of ammunition, old cases, holes and bunkers form the backdrop. The surroundings of these “bases” were punctuated with burnt surfaces, traces of the fighting according to Senegalese officers. The “bases”, relatively intact, belonged to the Movement of Democratic Forces of Casamance (MFDC), which has been leading an armed independence rebellion since 1982.
Senegal’s army Colonel Souleymane Kandé, commander of Ziguinchor’s military zone 5
“Here is the historical rebel base of the MFDC. This is one of the insurgents’ first stronghold. Some of their leaders like César Atoute Badiate and Salif Sadio have all stayed here before heading for the North Front. It is a sanctuary. It was the command center. This is the site that housed all of the rebellion’s weaponry. This base is now taken by the Army“, said Colonel Souleymane Kandé.
Senegalese forces said they seized mortars, rocket launchers, rifles and motorcycles, which they showed to the press. They also said they took control of several hectares of cannabis fields. “These are industrial farms of Indian hemp that fed the criminal economy of the armed gangs,” said Colonel Kandé.
The Senegalese top Army officer called on the displaced populations to “return to their villages quickly because the security conditions are now in place”, he said.
Weapons found in the mythical MFDC rebel base of Sikoun
‘’This process is irreversible. The State of Senegal will soon proceed with the establishment of basic socio-economic infrastructures such as schools, health centers, boreholes etc. Development partners, NGOs and public projects like PUMA, PUDC and others will also intervene here very quickly’’, Colonel Kandé added. He also announced the creation of military posts along the border line with Guinea-Bissau as a result of the recent amendment of the military agreements between the two countries.
He also praised the “great help” of the Bissau-Guinean Army in the recent operations to secure the area. “There was a great cooperation (of) the Guinea-Bissau Defense and Security Forces (FDS), operational and military cooperation,” said Colonel Kandé. |
| toubab1020 |
Posted - 06 Feb 2021 : 13:09:15
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https://www.chronicle.gm/casamance-rebels-lose-two-key-strongholds-to-senegalese-army/
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Casamance Rebels Lose Two Key Strongholds To Senegalese Army
The Chronicle: Saturday, February 6, 2021
The Chronicle has reliably learned that the Casamance rebel base in Sikoum of the Mouvement des Forces Démocratiques de Casamance (MFDC) has fallen on Wednesday into the hands of the Senegalese army. Located on the border with Guinea Bissau, Sikoum was abandoned by the rebels after intense bombardments (combined artillery and air force) by the Senegalese soldiers who succeeded to dislodge the men led by Ibrahima Kompass Diatta and Adama Sané from their stronghold nicknamed “La Deux” and “La Neuf“.
For weeks, the Senegalese army has launched a military offensive on the border with Guinea-Bissau, and the capture of Sikoum was one of its major objectives. After intensive shelling, MFDC fighters were forced to leave this mythical sanctuary of the Casamance rebellion.
Located in Senegalese territory, Sikoum was a backup bastion of Guinea Bissau’s African Party for the Independence of Guinea and Cape Verde (PAIGC) during the liberation war with the Portuguese colonial master. PAIGC fighters had built bunkers in Sikoum turning it into a stronghold where the Casamance MFDC rebels relocated taking advantage of its facilities and its sacred war shrine. As such, Sikoum has since become a very important basement in the mystical preparation of the Casamance combatants, exactly like Baraka Mandioka, another stronghold and hideout of Salif Sadio, where the rebel leader was dislodged in 2006 by a military operation backed by Bissau-Guinean Army General, Tagme Naway.
The combatants dislodged from the MFDC bases of “La Deux” and “La Neuf” under the commanded of Ibrahima Kompass Diatta and Adama Sané still have a border strip of more than 200km with the Republic of Guinea Bissau. It’s a wide area with lots of forests and swamps which is the ideal topography for the rebels to look for another hideout. Yet no new base can match Sikum that earned its reputation as a fortress after years of the Guinea Bissau war of independence and over three decades of the rebellion in Casamance.
Meanwhile, the capture of Sikum by The Senegalese clearly spells the relevance and the strategic nature of Senegal Macky Sall’s support for Guinea-Bissau’s Umaro Sissoco Embaló. The Casamance rebellion will sorely miss the support of the Guinea Bissau army as the MFDC combatants lose their backup base of retreat.
In Casamance however, it is more than thirty years of exile and suffering that will perhaps come to an end for the peaceful inhabitants of Sikoum. Military cantonments are needed to secure the return of the displaced people from that area.
In Senegal, many believe that this is a historic opportunity to move towards a peace agreement, between the Senegalese government and the Casamance rebels, that integrates the specificity of the region and repairs the injustices of history |
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