The recent deadly encounter between fighters of the Movement of Democratic Forces of Casamance (Mouvement des forces démocratiques de Casamance-in French) popularly known by its acronym MFDC–founded in 1982–, and Senegalese soldiers said to be part of the sub-regional forces deployed to the Gambia dubbed ECOMIG, but crossed the border into Casamance in pursue of illegal timber smugglers from the Southern part of Senegal, had been making news headlines in local and some international media outlets.
The clash led to the killing of two Senegalese soldiers and capture of Seven (7), by the MFDC fighters, and they were released weeks after frantic negotiations involving Gambian authorities, ECOWAS Secretariat officials in the Gambia, and a Catholic Sant’Egidio charity in Rome, Italy. Bodies of the duo were handed over prior to the recent release of the captured Senegalese peacekeepers believed to be part of the ECOMIG Mission from Ghana, Nigeria and Senegal.
The ECOWAS troops were deployed in 2017 following the December 1, 2016 Presidential election’s resultant political impasse, and the mission has since been here, despite some calls for it to end.
Under its leader Salif Sadio, the main separatist movement in the Casamance region of Senegal, is still fighting for complete autonomy for Casamance, and the conflict is reported to have killed about 5,000 people and internally displaced 60,000 people.
Meanwhile, the incident in Foni had caused some Gambian borderline villagers in the Fonis to flee their abodes to safety, as the rebels were said to have crossed over into the Gambian territories as they pursue the Senegalese soldiers. There were widespread condemnations, and concerns raised, from different quarters over the incident, which is apparently a serious threat to Gambia’s soverienty. The MFDC has threatened severe consequences for the Gambia, should they be “attacked again” by Senegalese soldiers from the Gambian soil.
Now, as our parliamentary correspondent Mr. Bakary Touray Jnr. writes, the National Assembly Member for Central Baddibu, Hon. Sulayman Saho, had put a statement before his colleagues at the nation’s lawmaking body, drawing their attention to this important national discourse.
Speaking at the Assembly on Wednesday, the lawmaker stressed “the Foni incident is uncalled for”, adding it needs serious attention in order to promote unity and peaceful coexistence between the two countries. He intimated that those (ECOMIG soldiers) on missions are guided by protocols that need to be valued and highly respected by officials on the ground.
“I would like to urge my fellow parliamentarians to revisit the security agreement [between The Gambia and Senegal], if [there’s] any, and in addition, for government to redeploy [soldiers from] other ECOWAS nations in Foni and withdraw the Senegalese forces that are there,” Hon. Saho submitted. He pointedly said the security of the country is fundamental to its progress and development, reminding them that The Gambia has, for long, been known as a ‘peaceful and stable’ country in the sub-region.
Saho maintained the recent events that occurred in Foni between the MFDC rebels and the Senegalese soldiers–who are either on ECOWAS mission or under bilateral agreement between the Gambia and Senegal– have indeed threatened and stained that long-standing peace and reputation of this country.
The teacher-turned-parliamentarian argued that the country is not in such a security crisis, as the nation went through the 2016 impasse when ex-President Jammeh refused to leave the seat of power after he had already publicly conceded defeat.
Central Baddibu’s NAM further told the House: “This, of course, as we are all aware, warranted ECOMIG to intervene in order to ensure that the will of the citizens prevail. But, the million dollar question is; ‘why do we still continue to harbour foreign troops in our country?’ ”. He underlined that The Gambia is a sovereign state that should be in charge of its security.
“We all appreciate the support of ECOWAS in 2016; but still [we] expect the government to implement the much-talked about and anticipated Security Sector Reform (SSR) as it’s about time our men and women in uniform take control of the security of our beloved country”, Saho charged. He also held that Senegal should not use the Gambia as a base to attack anybody, elsewhere outside the country– neither the rebels in Casamance nor anybody else.
The lawmaker cautioned that the lives of Gambian citizens in Foni would continue to be under threats, as long as those forces (from Senegal) continue to occupy that part of the country, “in the name of whatever agreement”.
Saho indicated that his statement is aimed at promoting and maintaining peace and order in the Western Region of the Gambia.
