A Senegalese soldier was killed in Casamance, in the south of Senegal, during an operation against rebels on the border with Gambia, we learned on Tuesday January 17 from a military source.
The incident took place on Monday in the department of Bignona where the army has been carrying out operations for several months against rebels of the Movement of Democratic Forces of Casamance (MFDC) who are demanding independence for this region bordering Gambia and Guinea. -Bissau, according to the Senegalese press.
Casamance, scene of one of the oldest rebellions on the continent
One soldier died and four were injured, an army official told AFP without further details. The army was intervening to prevent the rebels from setting up a new base near Gambia and to destroy Indian hemp fields, the press said. The Casamance rebels, accused of trafficking in wood and cannabis, have often taken refuge in Gambia or Guinea-Bissau.
Casamance is the scene of one of the oldest rebellions on the continent since separatists took to the maquis with rudimentary armament after the repression of an MFDC march in December 1982. After causing thousands of victims and ravaging the economy, the conflict persisted in small fires. In recent years, the Senegalese authorities have undertaken to resettle the displaced.
Senegalese President Macky Sall, elected in 2012 then re-elected in 2019, has made peace in Casamance one of his priorities.
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