Senegalese army storms three MFDC bases in Casamance
The Senegalese army has been carrying out military “security” operations for ten days against the separatists of Casamance.
(illustrative image) AFP PHOTO / Mamadou Toure BEHAN
Text by: RFI Follow
2 min
The Senegalese army has been carrying out military “security” operations for ten days against the separatists of Casamance who have been fighting since 1982 for the independence of the southern region of Senegal.
Since the start of operations on January 26, there has been total silence.
On Wednesday, the army stormed three independence bases after several hours of shelling.
MFDC fighters eventually abandoned their cantonment to vanish into the wild.
No report has so far been published.
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With our correspondent in Bissau,
Allen Yéro Embalo
On the ground, the intense aerial bombardments and artillery fire heard on Wednesday and in the early hours of Thursday again ended up hitting the mark according to several corroborating sources.
Three rebel bases fell, according to a fighter from the Mouvement des forces democratiques de Casamance.
Its occupants have vanished into the wild with weapons and baggage.
“
The (Senegalese) army is occupying the ground, but we are still fighting.
They keep pounding us.
And every day they pound us…
”
A tactical withdrawal or a defeat?
Nothing is less sure.
Neither the Senegalese army nor that of neighboring Guinea-Bissau have yet made
a statement on the situation
.
A situation which revives again, after several months of calm, a war which has left thousands of dead and displaced, some of whom have settled in Guinea-Bissau, in localities very close to the combat zones: Nhalom, Brenglom and Mangomga in particular.
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Read also: Senegal: in Casamance, local elected officials call for an end to insecurity
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Senegal
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