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'Over 500' flee restive Casamance flee to Gambia
Wednesday, 09 March 2011 19:42
AFP - Over 500 Senegalese have fled to Gambia since January to escape fighting between the army and separatist
rebels in the restive southern Casamance region, the UN refugee agency said on Wednesday."More than 500 Senegalese refugees have arrived in Gambia since January 2011," UNHCR spokesman in Dakar Francis Kpatinde told AFP, adding this brought to 8,000 the number of Senegalese refugees in the tiny country.
He said those crossing the border claimed to be fleeing fighting between the army and Movement for Democratic Forces of Casamance (MFDC) separatist fighters.
The refugees are mainly coming to Sibanor and Bullock, two towns in western Gambia.
Fighting has intensified between the army and MFDC rebels, with at least 19 soldiers killed since December in the Casamance, a region separated from the rest of Senegal by Gambia which has been wracked by a rebellion for independence since 1982.
The Senegalese government blame the new attacks on rebels equipped wiuth sophisticated new weoponry, believed to be supplied by Iran.
The revelations caused Dakar to break ties with Tehran on February 22.
Despite a 2004 peace accord, talks stalled shortly afterwards, and have been hampered by the MFDC being split into different factions.
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Comments
One of these days, true Gambians will get together and put an end to this madness engulfing our country.
Not to talk about the strain on our schools in bwiam and its people resources. We are heading to be like Bissau sooner or later.
Many more jammehs in our army growing. This is waht Halifa Sallah and Darboe are warning us about all the time while we put our heads in the sand to look for dollars buried by Yahya Jammeh. fools
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