WFP gives food to new Senegalese refugees

The World Food Programme (WFP) has completed a two-day distribution of emergency food rations to people who recently fled to The Gambia because of insecurity in Casamance, southern Senegal. The food was donated in response to a request from the Gambian government. WFP said the supplies were given to 2,047 people, mostly women and children, who had settled in 25 villages along the border. Although they were not in bad shape, they needed the food because they had fled Casamance without any possessions, WFP's public affairs officer, Ramin Rafirasme, told IRIN from the agency's regional office in Dakar, Senegal. Host communities had been helping the Senegalese, who included only 245 men. The Gambia has a refugee camp, but the newcomers have been reluctant to go there since it is farther inland and also because they see their situation as temporary. Fighting between the Senegalese armed forces and the Mouvement des forces democratiques de Casamance (MFDC), which wants self-determination for Casamance, has been going on for about 20 years. Sources told IRIN that during periods of intense fighting, residents of affected areas were often displaced for short periods, usually up to three weeks. Those living near the Gambian border would go to that country and remain there until the fighting ended, they said. The latest population movement, which started about 10 days ago, was triggered by what the army described as an operation against crime and banditry in Casamance. Other sources saw it as part of a military campaign against the MFDC. Rafirasme said WFP would continue to monitor the situation closely and collaborate with partner agencies to provide assistance, if needed.