Senegal: Ambush of 40 vehicles in Casamance
| Publisher | IRIN |
| Publication Date | 28 February 2008 |
| Cite as | IRIN, Senegal: Ambush of 40 vehicles in Casamance, 28 February 2008, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/47cbc628c.html [accessed 17 September 2023] |
| Disclaimer | This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States. |
"I lost more than US $400 during the robbery," the passenger of one ambushed car told IRIN. A woman from Guinea-Bissau who was on her way home from Dakar said, "The attackers assaulted me and other passengers."
The armed men carried Kalashnikovs and were dressed in military fatigues, another passenger told IRIN. They went from car to car beating up passengers, he said, "They tied some people up, stealing their watches, mobile phones, and money."
A low intensity conflict has simmered in Senegal's southern Casamance region since the early 1980s despite various peace agreements.
Two men were severely injured in the latest attack, including a Senegalese military officer. They were taken to the regional hospital in Ziguinchor.
The ambush occurred on the Senoba-Zinguichor road, only a few kilometres from the Senegalese military base of Oilampane. But soldiers didn't arrive there until 30 minutes after the attackers had left, an army spokesman said on local radio.
He said the troops came as soon as they got news of the incident. The military has since stepped up security along the road, he added.
Another officer told IRIN, "We do not have precise information on the attack but we believe [those responsible] were MFDC members led by Salif Sadio."
Passengers said the assailants later fled north towards The Gambia.
After a period of relative calm, there has been an upsurge in robberies over the past two months, according to residents of Ziguinchor. Like the latest attack, many occur in the north of the Casmance which is thought to be controlled by Salif Sadio, but others have occurred near the southern border of Casamance with Guinea-Bissau where armed rebels regularly rob civilians.
The whole region remains a no-man's-land between war and peace IRIN ARTICLE LINK, according to Vincent Foucher, a researcher at the Centre d'étude d'Afrique noir, in Bordeaux.
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