Fresh Fighting in Casamance

Heavy weapons fire erupted over the weekend near Ziguinchor, capital of the southern area of Casamance, where government troops have been battling separatist guerillas for years, sources told IRIN on Monday. A representative of the Conseil des Organisations non-gouvernmentales d'Appui au Developpement (CONGAD), a coalition of international and national NGOs in Senegal, told IRIN that two civilians were killed and around 15 people were wounded in the fighting. The clashes between the army and the Mouvement des forces democratiques de Casamance (MFDC) occurred in the districts of Tilene and Nema-Kador, and each side accused the other of starting the hostilities, according to the CONGAD source. A spokesperson from Rencontre Africaine pour la defense des droits de l'homme (RADDHO), a human rights group, told IRIN that the situation was calm on Monday morning. The upsurge in violence followed a recent sweep by Senegalese forces near the border with Guinea Bissau, southwest of Ziguinchor, according to news organisations.