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| Africa Subsaharan |
| Wade orders army to pursue fleeing rebels into Gambia |
| 2011-12-23 |
| [Daily Nation (Kenya)] An infuriated Senegal ... a nation of about 14 million on the west coast of Africa bordering Mauretania to the north, Mali to the east, and a pair of Guineas to the south, one of them Bissau. It is 90 percent Mohammedan and has more than 80 political parties. Its primary purpose seems to be absorbing refugees... ese President Abdoulaye Wade has ordered the country's armed forces to pursue the fleeing separatist rebels "everywhere even inside Gambia". ... The Gambia is actually surrounded by Senegal on all sides but its west coast. It has a population of about 1.7 million. The difference between the two is that in colonial days Senegal was ruled by La Belle France and The Gambia (so-called because there's only one of it, unlike Guinea) was ruled by Britannia... President Wade gave the orders yesterday in Dakar in the aftermath of a deadly separatist rebel attack on Tuesday that killed about ten soldiers in the troubled southern Casamance region. "They could be hiding in the forests and across the border to the Gambia, but pursue them wherever they may be found and let them face the law", President Wade told the army. Analysts say the president's orders were to move the public attention from the political crisis rocking the country as he moves to contest a controversial third mandate. It is also believed that the order could be inimical to the already tense relationship between the two neighbouring countries that was heightened by last year's Iranian arm shipment alleged destined for the Gambia. The shipment which was aborted and confiscated in Nigeria, led Senegal and Gambia to break diplomatic ties with Iran with Senegal arguing that the arms were intended for the rebels. Like many Senegalese, President Wade is of the firm conviction that the Movement des Forces Democratique de Casamance (or Mfdc) which are fighting to obtain independence of the region are backed by neighbouring Gambia and Guinea Bissau. |
| Posted by:Fred |
| #2 thanks for the info. |
| Posted by: bman 2011-12-23 11:07 |
| #1 A review: The French seized the Senegal River Valley because it is the first navigable river south of the Sahara. The river became their gateway to the interior. The climate of the Senegal River Valley is Sahel, desert scrub. Agriculture depends on peanuts as a cash crop, plus whatever vegetables (onions, mostly) and grain people can grow by irrigation. Goats and sheep can subsist on the scrubby natural vegetation. The British seized the Gambia River Valley, which has good agricultural land, where people can raise rice and a good variety of produce. They created a British zone about 50 miles wide and 150 miles long, surrounded by the French Senegal territory. Of course, the borders have no relation whatever to the ethnic character of the area. People who find themselves on opposite sides of the border from relatives, markets, and even the other half of the village, simply ignore the border. The Casamance River is the next big river south of the Gambia. The Casamance Valley feeds the rest of Senegal. Even then, the government has to import a lot of rice. The Sahel region of Senegal is Muslim, with a heavy dose of animism thrown in. I read a very interesting article recently in which 11 people threw themselves out of a second floor window because they thought the Devil had come into the room. The Casamance region is animist, with a veneer of Catholicism. At the time of Independence, the leadership in Dakar gave vague promises to the Casamance that they'd be given their own autonomy. Of course, once the leadership realized that they'd be letting go of the best agricultural land, they changed their minds. Wade is 86 and has been cozying up to the North Koreans lately. They helped him finance his ludicrous $50 million dollar statue honoring African Culture. This in a country where the teachers and college professors don't get paid regularly. Senegal has 22 Ethnic groups and at least as many languages and dialects. As I noted earlier on the Burg, among the many refugees it absorbs are people of various Bantu ethnic groups escaping slavery in Mauretania. |
| Posted by: mom 2011-12-23 10:07 |