Senegal hosted more than 50,000 refugees at the end of 1996, including some 50,000 from Mauritania and about 1,000 from various other countries. Approximately 17,000 Senegalese were refugees, including about 15,000 in Guinea-Bissau and some 2,000 in Gambia. Senegalese Refugees A long-simmering, separatist war in Senegal's southern region of Casamance flared in 199192. Historically, many of the 800,000 residents of Casamance, Senegal's main rice-growing region, have complained that the country's economic policies have deprived their region. The violence uprooted more than 40,000 persons by 1993. A 1993 cease-fire has generally held, despite occasional clashes in 1995 that killed scores of Senegalese soldiers and rebels. The situation remained relatively calm during 1996, although rebel combatants reportedly committed scattered human rights abuses against civilians. No significant refugee repatriation was reported during the year. There was reason to believe, however, that some uprooted families trickled back home. Senegalese refugees in neighboring Guinea-Bissau primarily lived without UNHCR assistance in small villages within eight miles of the border. About 500 occupied a special UNHCR-prepared site 40 miles from the border. Mauritanian Refugees Most of the 50,000 Mauritanian refugees in Senegal were expelled from their homes in 1989-90 by Mauritanian authorities who claimed the refugees were Senegalese rather than Mauritanian citizens. They have not been granted full refugee status under Senegalese law. About 25,000 Mauritanians are believed to have repatriated from Senegal in the past few years, including an estimated 10,000 to 15,000 in 1996. Most remaining refugees were settled into about 275 sites stretching 400 miles along the Senegal River, which marks the border with Mauritania. Several thousand refugees have migrated to other parts of Senegal. About 80 percent of the refugees want to repatriate eventually, according to a 1993 UNHCR survey. Many refugees indicated they would return only if UNHCR provided repatriation assistance, and if the Mauritanian government promised them citizenship and compensation for their losses. Food assistance to the refugees ended in early 1996. UNHCR operated a modest $200,000 program in the country.
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