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Members of the worldwide movement of lay people say only reasonable negotiation will bring about a definitive peace between army and separatists
By La Croix International staff | Senegal
The Community of Sant'Egidio, a lay Catholic association dedicated to social service, has intervened to bring about fruitful negotiations between the army in Senegal and the Gambia and separatists in a 40-year-old civil war.
"We are deeply concerned about the armed conflict that is currently taking place in northern Casamance", declares the Community of Sant'Egidio, which for years has acted as a mediator for peace between the government of Senegal and the Movement of Democratic Forces of Casamance (MFDC).
A "low-intensity" civil war has been raging in the Casamance region of southern Senegal since 1982 but is escalating as the Senegalese army stepped up its offensive against fighters allied to the Movement of Democratic Forces of Casamance, a separatist group in the southern region of the country on the Gambian border.
Media reports that 6,000 people have taken refuge in the Gambia after fleeing the violence in the past week between the army and rebels in Casamance, the region of Senegal on the Gambian border.
On March 13, the Senegalese army announced that it had launched an operation against the rebels in Casamance.
The offensive was launched less than two months after the deaths of four Senegalese soldiers and the capture of seven others by rebels in that border area.
The seven soldiers, members of the West African Military Mission in Gambia (ECOMIG), were later released.
The release of the soldiers was made possible through the mediation of the Community of Sant'Egidio.
"Following the clashes that occurred on January 24th between Senegalese soldiers from the West African regional mission ECOMIG and fighters from the MFDC led by Salif Sadio, Sant'Egidio intervened to stop the incidents and limit their consequences, managing to obtain the return of the bodies of the fallen Senegalese soldiers and the release of the seven Senegalese soldiers captured by the MFDC", it said in a statement.
According to the Senegalese army, the main objective of its operation is to destroy the MFDC bases on the border with Gambia and "preserve the integrity of the national territory at all costs" as well as dismantle all criminal gangs active in the area.
The Senegalese military offensive is also affecting neighboring Gambia, where detonations of heavy weapons and gunfire have affected people in villages on the border with Senegal, according to the Gambian government.
The MFDC'S rebellion has thrived on the alleged marginalization of the region between The Gambia to its north and Guinea-Bissau to the south.
"Sant'Egidio calls for an end to the current military operations by the Senegalese army in order to ensure the stability of the affected region and to keep the path of dialogue open", read the statement.
The Community also reiterates its full willingness to continue the negotiation process, convinced that only through a reasonable negotiation will a definitive peace in Casamance be possible".
The issue of the 40-year-old Casamance conflict should be a concern to both countries that should work together by patrolling their borders and exchanging intelligence reports," said The Point, an independent newspaper that promotes divergent views, and issues on democracy and human rights and is published in Bakau, the Gambia.
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