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Thu, 09:56 26 Jun 2008 GMT17

 
Senegal insurgency

Last reviewed: 04-01-2007

WEST AFRICA'S LONGEST-RUNNING CONFLICT


Villagers in Senegal's southern Casamance region dance to the beat of a drum, traditionally used to send messages through the bush, Jan 2006.<br> REUTERS/Finbarr O'Reilly
Villagers in Senegal's southern Casamance region dance to the beat of a drum, traditionally used to send messages through the bush, Jan 2006.
REUTERS/Finbarr O'Reilly
Separatist rebels in Senegal's southern province of Casamance have waged a sporadic low-level guerrilla campaign against the government since 1982, in what has become West Africa's longest-running conflict.

  • Some 64,000 displaced
  • Rebel goals remain unclear
  • Conflict far from resolved

    Fighting between the army and factions of the Movement of Democratic Forces of Casamance (MFDC) flared again in mid-2006, despite a string of ceasefires and reconciliation moves in recent years, including a peace pact in 2004.

    The Geneva-based Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre estimates that the latest clashes have brought the total number of people displaced by the conflict to 64,000.

    The U.N. refugee agency has registered at least 5,200 refugees in the Gambia, which runs through Senegal, along Casamance's northern border. Thousands remain in neighbouring Guinea-Bissau.

    Casamance is the only mainly Christian province in Senegal, where 94 percent of the population are Muslims, but the conflict has generally transcended religious and ethnic divides. Rebels hail from both religions and various tribes, driven by feelings of marginalisation and neglect by the Dakar government.

    The MFDC split in the mid-1990s into hardline factions refusing all negotiation and a moderate wing that eventually signed the 2004 peace deal. While the movement was formed with a secessionist agenda, analysts say its explicit aims have become hard to identify.

    Despite the recent violence, including the killing of a top official of President Abdoulaye Wade's ruling party, Senegal's army has begun removing landmines under the terms of the 2004 agreement.


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    Senegal's President Abdoulaye Wade speaks during a U.N. crisis summit on rising food prices at the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) in Rome June 3, 2008. World leaders opened a conference ...


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