Peace agreement offers hope in Senegal’s Casamance region

DAKAR, Senegal

A peace agreement between the government of Senegal and separatist rebels in Casamance is raising hopes that one of the continent’s longest-running conflicts may be nearing an end.

On February 23, after three days of meetings, Senegalese Prime Minister Ousmane Sonko and members of the Movement of Democratic Forces of Casamance signed an agreement at an event hosted by Guinea-Bissau.

Sonko called the signing a “very big step towards peace.”

“Guinea-Bissau and Senegal must work together to promote peace in Casamance, because the instability of this region affects us all,” Sonko said, according to state broadcaster RTS.

The peace deal comes a year after Sonko, who is originally from the Casamance region, took office. It is the latest in a string of agreements with Casamance rebels, who have splintered off into at least three subgroups and are heavily involved in illicit trafficking of timber, cannabis and other goods.

The culturally distinct region of Casamance is separated from the rest of the country by The Gambia. Residents have long complained of being left behind in terms of development and social services, leading some to support an armed insurgency fighting for independence. But the fighting, which dates to 1982, has taken a heavy toll. More than 60,000 are displaced, 5,000 have been killed and the region remains littered with land mines.

War-weary citizens in the region are now desperate for peace.

“We were born in war, we grew up in war, and we tell each other all the time that one cannot die and must not die in war,” Madia Diop Sané, an activist and leader of a group called the Citizen Visions Movement, told The Guardian.

The latest deal, with one of the three rebel groups, includes a presidential pardon for imprisoned rebels, amnesty for fighters and a reintegration program, according to Vincent Foucher, an expert on the conflict from the National Center for Scientific Research in France. But Foucher remains skeptical that this deal can definitively end the conflict, pointing out that one of the hardline factions is yet to sign.

“I don’t see a solution yet. It’s a continuation of endless discussions with a divided movement,” Foucher said. “The Senegalese state is not prepared to make the political or administrative concessions demanded by the other factions that have not signed the peace agreement.”

But others hope that Sonko, who previously served as mayor of Ziganchor, the largest city in Casamance, will bring a fresh perspective and resolve to the issue.

“The new regime is taking things seriously,” Lamine Coly, a member of the Initiative for the Reunification of the Political Wings of the movement, told Radio France Internationale. “I see it as consolidation of what was done before. In 2022, there was an accord signed but nothing concrete. Now, with the presence of the head of the government of Senegal, we’ve moved to the concrete.”

In further evidence of Senegal’s commitment to the region, last year Senegalese President Bassirou Diomaye Faye unveiled a plan to invest 53 billion FCFA, or about $88 million, to clear the area of land mines and support economic development. The plan seeks to reestablish the presence of the state in Casamance with the construction of schools, health care facilities and government offices.

“This initiative represents a significant investment in Casamance’s future, addressing the region’s longstanding economic and social disruptions caused by years of conflict,” Sonko said, according to The Gambia Journal.