It has been almost a week since the Senegalese army launched a military operation in Casamance, in the south of the country. Since Sunday, March 13, according to the staff, this operation aims to dismantle the MFDC bases of the rebel leader Salif Sadio’s faction. Few information filters on how the military operation is progressing. Recent battles have caused displacements in the border area.
as reported from Dakar, Charlotte Idrac
In total, about 6,350 displaced persons and refugees have been registered in the Foni Kansala area in southern Gambia. These are the first figures released by the National Crisis Management Agency in Banjul since the start of the military operation.
Among them, a majority – 4,508 people – are internally displaced persons, ie Gambian citizens. “61% of households are run by women”, adds the official authority, which indicates that “these people can no longer stay in their homes due to the proximity to the fighting and the global consequences of the ongoing clashes”.
►Senegal: new military operation in Casamance
Another figure: 543 households receive no support. “At the border between Senegal and Gambia, there are the same families,” says a local resident, “many villagers often receive their parents” in southern Gambia.
For almost a week, testimonies have reported airstrikes and heavy gunfire in northern Casamance. In Dakar, staff do not comment on the progress of the business for the time being and do not proceed with an assessment.
►Senegal: part of the population flees the military operation in Casamance
This operation follows a clash that took place in late January between separatist fighters and a Senegalese branch of the ECOWAS force in Gambia, present in the country since 2017. Four soldiers had been killed and seven others held captive until their release on 14 February.
