It has been nearly a week since the Senegalese army launched a military operation in Casamance, in the south of the country. Since Sunday March 13, this operation aims according to the staff to dismantle the MFDC bases of the faction of the rebel leader Salif Sadio. Few information filter on the progress of the military operation. Recent fighting has caused population displacements in the border area.
With our correspondent in Dakar, Charlotte Idrac
Some 6,350 displaced persons and refugees have been registered in total in the Foni Kansala area in southern Gambia. These are the first figures announced 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, therefore Gambian nationals. “ 61% of households are headed by women “, adds the official agency, which indicates that “ these people can no longer stay in their homes because of the proximity of the fighting and the global implications of the ongoing clashes “.
► Senegal: new military operation in Casamance
Another figure: 543 households do not receive any aid. “ On the border between Senegal and Gambia, it is the same families “, explains a resident of the region, “ many villagers are often taken in by their parents in southern Gambia.
For nearly a week, testimonies have reported aerial bombardments and heavy weapon fire in northern Casamance. In Dakar, the staff does not comment on the progress of operations for the time being, and does not advance an assessment.
► Senegal: part of the population flees the military operation in Casamance
This operation follows a clash that occurred at the end of January between separatist fighters and a Senegalese detachment of the ECOWAS force in The Gambia, present in the country since 2017. Four soldiers had been killed, and seven others held prisoner, until their release on February 14th.