The tandem formed at the head of Senegal by President Bassirou Diomaye Faye and Prime Minister Ousmane Sonko is eagerly awaited for the resolution of the crisis more than 40 years old, in Casamance, the southern region of the South. Will they succeed where their predecessors failed.
It is one of the oldest armed rebellions in Africa. In Senegal, the Casamance conflict has been raging for 43 years. This rebellion which started in 1982 went through several political regimes, passing from Léopold Sédar Senghor, Abdou Diouf, Abdoulaye Wade and Macky Sall. This crisis has decimated part of this territory, causing deaths, mine accidents, displaced people, etc. Now the question that everyone is asking is: what will be the strategy of the new government in place since last April and embodied by the Tandem Bassirou Diomaye Faye-Ousmane Sonko in the crisis in Casamance?
The beginning of a response was undoubtedly given at the end of December 2024. Indeed, during his General Policy Declaration (Dpg), the Head of Government presented his new plan for Casamance. This is the “Diomaye Special Plan for Casamance 2024-2025”, with a provisional cost of nearly 54 billion FCFA (around 81 million euros), with the implementation, respectively in the regions of Ziguinchor , Sédhiou and Kolda, of an inclusive regional steering committee. Thus, with this program, it is notably planned to strengthen the institutional and budgetary capacities of the National Agency for the Revival of Economic and Social Activities in Casamance (ANRAC), responsible for coordinating the execution of the interventions of the said special plan. Besides, the plan also commits to mobilizing financing for mine clearance operations with an estimated cost of 15 billion FCFA; but also to make priority use of very small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), and local labor in the conduct of government projects or supported by the State. A large part of the Plan also includes the establishment of a suitable system to support displaced people, to ensure the employability and employment of young people and women, by creating the conditions for continued development of local expertise for the upkeep and maintenance of infrastructure, materials and equipment. The new authorities want to make their mark for lasting peace. “ Significant and commendable progress in the restoration of peace has been made in recent years, so it now remains to complete the process of total pacification. and definitive of this natural region with infinite potential. My government, under the guidance of the President of the Republic, is committed to this and works on it daily with openness, but with firmness regarding the principles of national unity”assured Ousmane Sonko.
Sonko, a son of the land
A keen observer of the Casamance conflict, journalist Ibrahima Gassama witnessed several years of war, the successes and failures of numerous government plans. For him, the particularity of the announced Plan is to have a Prime Minister from Casamance and who knows the realities. “ Ousmane Sonko is a son of Casamance. It is that, the novelty, because we could say that the former presidents did not take the real measure of what was happening here, but Ousmane Sonko, who comes from this region, even if he did not have too much grew up here, knows the realities well », deciphers Ibrahima Gassama. Thus, he fully appreciates what needs to be done. And the specificity of this Plan, adds Ibrahima Gassama, is that it is not housed at the Presidency, even if it is coordinated by the President of the Republic and the Prime Minister. Because exactly explains the specialist, there are ad hoc committees which have been set up in the regions, since it is three regions, notably Ziguinchor, Kolda and Sédhiou, which will share these 54 billion CFA francs announced under the coordination of regional committees led by governors. Ibrahima Gassama also notes that several initiatives launched have not had the expected effects. “ Since the outbreak of the conflict in Casamance, in the management of what followed in relation to all the successive regimes, we have been entitled more to announcement effects than to concrete achievements on the ground, even if It should be noted that there are things that have been done here and there. But, not precisely in the sense of annihilating all the difficulties, in particular the consequences linked to the conflict », Considers Mr. Gassama. For the president of the Board of Directors of the Women’s Platform for Peace in Casamance, Ndèye Marie Diédhiou Thiam, the new Plan for Peace and Development of Casamance raises a lot of hope among the populations. According to him, needs have been identified and taken into account in the budget of nearly 54 billion CFA francs already adopted for the three regions. Added to this, according to her, is the plan to support displaced people. Thus, Ndeye Marie Diedhiou Thiam deduces that everything suggests that the dynamic is good. “It should nevertheless be noted that it There is still much to do in terms of building basic social infrastructure such as health posts, schools, construction of boreholes, electrification. Furthermore, the thorny question of civil status and the continuation of mine clearance must be tackled head on. », Supports the head of the Women’s Platform for Peace in Casamance.
Everything is not settled
Even if the hope of a lasting peace is reborn, we cannot yet declare the end of the conflict in Casamance. The reason, according to Ibrahima Gassama, is that there are still elements of the Movement of Casamance Democratic Forces (MFDC) still scattered in the forest. “ It is true that the Senegalese army had undertaken a vast operation to dismantle the MFDC bases in the South and the North. The latest operations concerned the Salif Sadio bases which were along the border with Gambia, facilitated by the departure of Yaya Jammeh and the presence of ECOWAS forces. », analyzes Ibrahima Gassama. According to him, the threat persists, because Salif Sadio is still nowhere to be found. “It’s true, there is a wing, that of Diakaye, the Northern Front, which took a strong official action in Mongone, in May 2023. It is to give up arms, to come out of the maquis, and to sign an arms surrender agreement, with 255 combatants who were demobilized, whose weapons were recovered, even destroyed. So that’s a major achievement. Until now, we have been entitled to ceasefire agreements, which were quickly called into question. But since May 13, 2023, we have had this agreement to lay down arms. So, we are waiting for this action to be extended to other factions of the MFDC », explains Mr. Gassama. In his eyes, there are so many gray areas that still need to be considered.
-Gradual return of displaced people
With the Casamance conflict, around 60,000 people experienced forced exile. Many villages have also been wiped off the map of the Ziguinchor department and its region. These families moved within the country. Others found refuge in Gambia and Guinea-Bissau and became refugees. “ There is a large number of people still entrenched in these countries, particularly from the district of Sindian, the north of the region, the department of Bignona, but also others who are in Guinea-Bissau, in coming from the department of Ziguinchor, in particular from the commune of Boutoupa Camaracounda, but also in areas such as the district of Nyassia, from the commune of Santhiaba manjak, where the populations have still not returned », Adds specialist Ibrahima Gassama. However, in recent years, the Senegalese army has been able to dismantle several bases, thus encouraging the return of populations. This is the case of Bissine but also of Senghère Diola who returned to their village barehanded after more than three decades of wandering. Thus according to Ibrahima Gassama, this is where the new Diomaye Plan for Casamance finds its full meaning. Because it should make it possible to better deal with emergencies including the construction of houses so that these populations can live, access to water, demining of the area, since these populations cannot undertake activities, particularly agricultural activities. and market gardeners, suspecting the presence of mines and other explosive remnants of war.
The dividends of good neighborliness
Gambia and Guinea Bissau were once “rear bases” for certain rebel factions. The situation has changed: today, Senegal is on better terms with the two neighboring countries, particularly the Gambia with which a clear improvement in relations took place after the departure of Yaya Jammeh from power in 2016. With the thaw established with Guinea-Bissau too, regional geopolitics has definitely changed.
« With the presence of Yaya Jammeh and other regimes before the arrival in Guinea-Bissau of Umaro Sissoco Embalo, these neighboring countries were precisely suspected of covering, facilitating and even sheltering rebel bases which attacked the national army and in Senegal. So, the departure of Yaya Jammeh in 2016 sounded a bit of a death knell and it allowed the Senegalese army, under the cover of ECOWAS, to operate in this area and dismantle Salif Sadio, in particular his bases. », explains Ibrahima Gassama. For him, Yaya Jammeh was accused of blowing hot and cold in the Casamance crisis, because he had rather conflicting relations with Abdoulaye Wade, then president of Senegal.
« This is what means that, moreover, when Macky Sall arrived in power, his first official trip, he dedicated it to the Gambia to relaunch and put this country back on track in its contribution to the return of peace in Casamance», insists Mr. Gassama. Today, the trend is towards local diplomacy. From December 20 to 23, 2024, Prime Minister Ousmane Sonko participated in the economic forum between the two countries. He took the opportunity to call for good economic and social collaboration. It remains to be seen whether all this will be enough to turn the page on one of the oldest rebellions in sub-Saharan Africa.
Ibrahima Dieng
