| To the cheers of thousands, Senegal's government signed a peace deal Thursday with separatist rebels aimed at ending two decades of low-level skirmishing in the southern Casamance region. Interior Minister Ousmane Ngom and Diamacoune Senghor, leader of the rebel Movement of Casamance Democratic Forces, signed the document in the presence of several Cabinet ministers, opposition leaders and diplomats in Ziguinchor, the region's capital. A crowd of thousands gathered outside cheered when the document was signed in the governor's office. Some women fainted, while other people stared, their eyes filled with tears, state radio said. |