Two soldiers killed in Senegal’s Casamance province

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Two Senegalese soldiers were killed and two others injured during a clash with suspected separatist rebels in the southern province of Casamance, an army spokesperson said yesterday.

The incident in one of the West African country’s top tourist zones occurred on Monday evening next to the village of Baraf when a patrolling army unit clashed with suspected rebels of the Movement of Democratic Forces of Casamance (MFDC).
“During that incident with an armed group we lost two soldiers and two others were injured,” Senegal’s army spokesperson Ousmane Sar told Reuters. He declined to say if any of the suspected rebels were killed or captured.

The MFDC has waged a low-level insurgency over the past two decades in the region, which also produces grain, demanding independence from the capital Dakar.

Last October, six soldiers were killed during an ambush by suspected MFDC rebels near the border with Guinea Bissau.

The rebel movement has accused the central government of neglecting Casamance and numerous peace deals have failed to secure lasting calm for the region.

Pic: Senegalese troops

Source: www.af.reuters.com