Casamance rebels warn Senegal to back off Gambia

By Alpha Kamara

DAKAR, Senegal (AA) - The Movement of Democratic Forces of Casamance (MDFC) rebels Thursday have warned Senegal about interfering in Gambia.

The group -- in a statement issued through their secretary general Mamadou Nkrumah Sane who lives in exile in France -- promised to confront Senegalese soldiers should they interfere in the political stalemate in Gambia.

“Senegal should not interfere in the internal affairs of another country and must leave Gambians alone to solve their electoral problems through peaceful dialogue,” Mamadou Sane said.

Senegal’s foreign minister, Mankeur Ndiaye was among the first foreign government officials to blast Gambia's President Yahya Jammeh’s decision to reject the poll results after initially accepting defeat -- a move that triggered other regional condemnations.

Senegal and Gambia have had a strained relationship after former Senegalese President Abdoulaye Wade accused Jammeh of assisting the Casamance rebels in the south, a claim he has denied.

The MFDC has been calling for the independence of the Casamance region, of which the population is religiously distinct from the rest of Senegal. They also claimed local resources were not distributed in the region’s interest.

The region is separated from the rest of Senegal by Gambia and has tribes that are found in both countries especially the Jolas which is President Jammeh’s ethnic group.

The bloodiest years of the conflict were between 1992 and 2001 which resulted in over 1,000 deaths.

Ousmane Dieudio, a Senegalese journalist, said the latest MFDC statement somewhat implied there was some kind of relationship between Jammeh and the rebels.

“If they haven’t got any relationship, why should they show concern for him?" he asks.

Several Gambians in the diaspora have been calling on Senegal, which surrounds tiny Gambia, to intervene to dislodge Jammeh, but that action can only be realistically achieved if the Economic Community Of West African States (ECOWAS) approves a military intervention.

An ECOWAS delegation to the country headed by Liberian President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf to persuade Jammeh to leave power was unsuccessful and another meeting has been scheduled in Nigeria on Saturday, where certain analysts believe a tougher stance will be adopted against Jammeh if he continues to be defiant.