A manhunt by the Senegalese army is underway for suspected armed separatists in Bignona in the south of the country following an attack in Djinaki in which a soldier was reported missing.
The renewed tension comes amid the resumption of the peace process in the Casamance region.
The Senegalese army announced on Thursday, April 17, that it had intensified its operations in the southern district of Bignona, following attacks carried out by armed individuals in the town of
Djinaky, near the Gambian border.
According to a statement from the Directorate of Information and Public Relations of the Armed Forces (DIRPA), “Military Zone No. 5 has launched a major operation in the sector to track down the assailants” following the atrocities committed in the town of Djinaki by armed individuals on the night of April 13, 2025.
The search operations led to a clash in the Mongone sector on April 16. “A military detachment was attacked by an armed group,” the DIRPA reported. The toll reported is “one soldier wounded and one missing.”
Military authorities assured citizens that “all necessary means are being implemented to locate the missing soldier” and that “operations are underway in the area to secure the population and their property.”
The initial attack in Djinaki took place Monday around 9 p.m.,according to the newspaper Le Quotidien.
The armed and unidentified assailants stole cell phones and looted several shops before fleeing.
Security operations launched by the defense forces are expected to extend “as far as the border with Gambia,” according to the local press.
Against this backdrop, an incident on Sunday involved a team of journalists from the Al Jazeera channel, who were briefly arrested while reporting on the return of war displaced persons to Casamance.
Equipment was seized from them, prompting a reaction from the Senegalese Foreign Press Association (APES), which denounced the act targeting “duly accredited” reporters.
The natural region of Casamance remains marked by a rebellion that has been going on for more than forty years, led by the Movement of Democratic Forces of Casamance (MFDC).
Several factions have laid down their arms in recent years, but the situation is described by
observers as “neither peace nor war.”
The new Senegalese authorities recently launched the Diomaye Plan for Casamance, an initiative aimed at revitalising the local economy and establishing a dynamic of lasting peace in the restive region, which boasts significant development potential.
ODL/ac/Sf/fss/as/APA