Three soldiers killed by separatists in Casamance

Separatist rebels in Senegal’s southern Casamance region killed three soldiers and seriously injured five more when they attacked an army unit carrying out mine clearance operations, a military spokesman said. The attack took place on Thursday in Guidel, about 18 km southeast of Ziguinchor, the main town in Casamance, he added. This was the first serious assault on the Senegalese army by the separatist rebels for two years. During that period soldiers have been clearing mines and rebuilding villages to enable 15,000 displaced people to return to their homes. About 50,000 people in Casamance have been forced to flee their homes as a result of a low-level guerrilla war waged for the past 22 years by the faction-ridden Movement of Democratic Forces of Casamance (MFDC). The government has been negotiating a peace deal with the moderate wing of the MFDC. However, Guidel, where the attack took place, is a stronghold of Salif Sadio, a rebel commander who opposes the peace process. “The attackers had warned people who were starting to return to villages that had been abandoned with the encouragement of the authorities. The position of this faction is that the war is not yet over,” a journalist based in Ziguinchor told IRIN. There are indications that this latest attack could be part of a revival of activity by MFDC hardliners. Two weeks ago, 60 armed rebels attacked the village of Gouraf, around 10 km from Zinguinchor, where villagers were trying to rebuild damaged buildings so that they could return there to live. No one was injured in that attack, though goods were stolen. And last week, five soldiers were wounded when their vehicle hit a land mine. There had been hopes that the death in May 2003 of Sidi Badji, the veteran leader of the armed wing of the MFDC, would help to consolidate the peace process. Badji, who died at the age of 83, remained staunchly committed to the principle of secession. Casamance lies between Gambia and Senegal’s southern border with Guinea Bissau. The swampy forested region is very different to the rest of the country in terms of landscape, language and religion. Most of its inhabitants are Christian rather than Muslim and Wolof, the lingua franca of most Senegalese, is not widely spoken. Casmance has the potential to be the most agriculturally productive area of Senegal, however the long running war has retarded development. Guidel, where the latest attack took place, lies in the Niaguis district which is littered with MDFC landmines. Most of its original inhabitants have therefore left. The MFDC launched their secessionist campaign in 1982. However, its attacks in recent years have largely taken the form of robberies and hijackings, rather than assaults on government or military personnel. Since President Abdoulaye Wade came to power in 2000 efforts to restore peace to the Casamance have been redoubled. In October last year, the MFDC’s long-time leader, Catholic Bishop turned rebel leader, Abbot Diamacoune Senghor and General Secretary Jean-Marie Francois Biagui, announced the end of the secessionist war at an open meeting in Zinguinchor. The armed wing of the MFDC was poignantly absent. As the MFDC leadership has developed closer relations with Wade’s government, so the movement’s hardliners have become more unruly and fractious. Guinea Bissau, where MFDC fighters previously sought sanctuary, has recently joined the Senegalese government in cracking down on the rebels.