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Military escorts for travellers

    ABIDJAN

    The Senegalese army has been escorting travellers since Tuesday from the southern town of Ziguinchor to the Gambian border due to recent armed robberies along the route, ‘Le Soleil’ reported.

    Many people from the southern region of Casamance are heading north, through The Gambia, along the trans-Gambian Highway, for a festival taking place this weekend in the Senegalese city of Touba, some 160 km east of the capital Dakar. The annual “magal” commemorates Cheik Ahmadou Bamba, the founder of the Islamic Mouride brotherhood and attracts thousands of pilgrims each year.

    Inhabitants of the Casamance region have been requesting an army escort for vehicles travelling along the highway for several weeks, the daily reported. Since mid-February, around 30 people have been killed in armed robberies blamed on the Mouvement des forces democratiques de Casamance (MFDC). The MFDC has been fighting for self-rule in Casamance since 1982.

    This article was produced by IRIN News while it was part of the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. Please send queries on copyright or liability to the UN. For more information: https://shop.un.org/rights-permissions

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