The Casamance conflict () is an ongoing low-level conflict that has been waged between the Government of Senegal and the Movement of Democratic Forces of Casamance (MFDC) since 1982. On 1 May 2014, the leader of the MFDC sued for peace and declared a unilateral ceasefire.
The MFDC has called for the independence of the Casamance region, whose population is religiously and ethnically distinct from the rest of Senegal. The bloodiest years of the conflict were during the 1992–2001 period and resulted in over a thousand battle related deaths.
On 30 December 2004, an agreement was reached between the MFDC and the government which promised to provide the voluntary integration of MFDC fighters into the country's paramilitary forces, economic recovery programmes for Casamance, de-mining and aid to returning refugees. Nevertheless, some hard-line factions of the MFDC soon defected from elements of the MFDC who had signed the agreement and no negotiations took place following the breakdown of talks in Foundiougne on 2 February 2005.
Fighting again emerged in 2010 and 2011 but waned following the April 2012 election of Macky Sall. Peace negotiations under the auspices of Saint Egidio community took place in Rome and on 14 December 2012, President Sall announced that Casamance would be a test-case for advanced decentralization policy.
Background
The distinct regional identity of the Casamance region has contributed to separatist arguments that distinguish the region and its people from the North.
Geography The Casamance region is the southern region of Senegal which, although connected in the East, is separated from the rest of Senegal. The Gambia divides Senegal along nearly 300 kilometers by a width of 50 kilometers. Casamance contains two administrative regions named for their capitals: Ziguinchor to the west and Kolda to the east. The Ziguinchor region has been the most affected by the conflict, where it was initially confined. Beginning in 1995, the conflict spread into the Kolda region, largely affecting the department of Sédhiou.
The region's terrain differs from that of the northern Sahel landscape. Casamance terrain is filled with rivers, forests, and mangrove swamps.
Demographic and cultural differences The principal inhabitants of the region are members of the Jola (Djiola, Diola) ethnic group, although they are overall a minority if all other ethnic groups of Casamance are combined. Besides Jola, the area also harbors Mandinka, Mankanya, Pulaar (a Fula group), Manjak, Balanta, Papel, Bainuk, and a small minority of Wolof. By contrast, the Wolof are the overall largest ethnic group in Senegal, dominating the north. The sentiment has existed amongst Jola that they do not benefit sufficiently from the region's richness and that Dakar, the capital, reaps most of the profit from the region's products. This feeling of unequal treatment is widespread in Casamance, even among those who do not support separatism. Many people within Casamance are Christians or animists, unlike the majority of Senegalese who are Muslims. However, relations between Senegal's Muslim and Christian populations have historically been mutually respectful, and religion has not played any significant role in the Casamance conflict.
Colonial rule Though Senegal was colonized by France in the nineteenth century, Portugal was the first European country to make contact with the country. Portuguese administration was established in Ziguinchor in 1645 and remained until 1888. In the period which followed, French, Portuguese, and British powers competed for influence in the area. After French colonial rule was established, French Catholic missionaries concentrated their efforts among Jola in lower Casamance, along with the Serer ethnic group. The first proposal for the autonomy of Casamance emerged under French rule.
Timeline
1970s In the late 1970s, a separatist movement first developed in Casamance. Political frustrations mounted from the lack of economic growth for Casamançais people. One of the recurring themes was that Northerners dominated the economy of the region. The administration in Ziguinchor was dominated by Northerners, predominantly of the Wolof ethnic group. Zinginchor and coastal areas underwent developmental expropriations, and many local officials from the northern regions gave relatives and clients access to land. This resulted in protests in Ziguinchor and Cap Skirring.
1980s In the 1980s, resentment about the marginalization and exploitation of Casamance by the Senegalese central government gave rise to an independence movement in form of the MFDC, which was officially founded in 1982. This initial movement managed to unite Jola and other ethnic groups in the region, such as Fulani, Mandinka and Bainuk, and led to rising popular resistance against the government and northerners.
On December 26, 1982, several hundred protesters gathered in Ziguinchor despite the arrest of most of the demonstration's leaders. This peaceful demonstration was attended by men and women of all classes as well as of Jola and other ethnic groups in the region. During the event, the protestors marched to the regional governor's office and replaced the Senegalese flag with a white flag. In response, the Senegalese government targeted Jola people.
The MFDC began to organise demonstrations, and tensions eventually escalated in massive riots in December 1983. On December 6, three gendarmes were killed while intervening at a MFDC meeting near Ziguinchor. On December 18, 1983, militants with weapons marched in Ziguinchor. This demonstration turned violent, with many casualties. Following this attack, the Senegalese government drove the MFDC underground into the forests. This caused the MDFC to form a more radicalized, armed wing that engaged in guerrilla combat against the Senegalese army and symbols of statehood in 1985. The armed wing was known as Attika ("warrior" in Diola). The Senegalese government answered by dividing the Casamance province into two smaller regions, probably in order to split and weaken the independence movement. This only heightened tensions, and the government began to jail MFDC leaders such as Augustin Diamacoune Senghor.
Another factor in the growing independence movement was the failure of the Senegambia Confederation in 1989, which had economically benefited Casamance and whose end only worsened the situation of Casamance's population. By the end of the 1980s, the military wing of the MDFC had an estimate of 300-600 trained fighters.
1990s
The discovery of oil in the region emboldened the MFDC to organise mass demonstrations for immediate independence in 1990, which were brutally suppressed by the Senegalese military. This pushed the MFDC into a full armed rebellion. The following fighting was vicious, and 30,000 civilians were displaced by 1994. Several ceasefires were agreed during the 1990s, but none lasted, often also due to splits within the MFDC along ethnic lines and between those ready negotiate and those who refused to lay down their weapons. In 1992 the MFDC divided into two main groups, Front Sud and Front Nord. Whereas Front Sud was dominated by Jola and called for full independence, Front Nord included both Jola as well as non-Jola tribesmen and was ready to work with the government based on a failed agreement of 1991. Another ceasefire in 1993 led to the break-off of hardline rebel groups from the MFDC. These continued to attack the military. In 1994, Yahya Jammeh took power in the Gambia through a coup d'état. Jammeh would start to provide the MFDC with substantial support, and was even known to recruit MFDC fighters into the Gambian military, reportedly since they were more inclined to be loyal to Jammeh's regime than the people of the Gambia.
The Senegalese military relocated thousands of soldiers from the northern provinces to Casamance in 1995 in an attempt to finally crush the uprising. The northern soldiers often mistreated the local population and did not differentiate between those who supported the rebels and government loyalists. By this time, the rebels had established bases in Guinea-Bissau, reportedly being supplied with arms by Bissau-Guinean military commander Ansumane Mané. Mané's alleged support for the separatists was one factor which led to the Guinea-Bissau Civil War that erupted in 1998. When Senegal decided to send its military into Guinea-Bissau to fight for the local government against Mané's forces, the latter and the MFDC formed a full alliance. The two rebel movements started to fight side by side in both Senegal as well as Guinea-Bissau. Although the Senegal-supported government of Guinea-Bissau collapsed, the following MFDC-sympathetic regime was also overthrown in May 1999. Meanwhile, tensions within the MFDC resulted in rebel leader Salif Sadio killing 30 of his rivals; however, one of his main opponents among the insurgents, Caesar Badiatte, survived an assassination attempt.
In a renewed offensive against the separatists between April and June 1999, the Senegalese military shelled Casamance's de facto capital Ziguinchor for the first time, causing numerous civilian casualties and the displacement of 20,000 people along the Senegal–Guinea-Bissau border. From then on, fighting mostly took place in the eastern Kolda Region. Another attempt at peace talks started in December 1999, with Senegalese and MFDC representatives meeting in Banjul. Both sides agreed to a ceasefire. By the end of the 1990s, the MFDC had made little progress in both its diplomatic as well as militant attempts at furthering its cause. In addition, the party's reputation as a genuine separatist forces started to suffer, as it became evident that many MFDC commanders were less motivated by politics and more by money in their insurgency. Several would accept ceasefires with the Senegalese government as long as they received rewards by the authorities.
In 1999, Seynabou Male Cissé, a geography teacher in Ziguinchor, established the Regional Committee of Women's Solidarity for Peace in Casamance (), also known as Usoforal (Jola for "let's join hands"), which advocated for the "traditional" role of women as peacemakers in ending the Casamance conflict, as well as stressing the need for them to be part of peace talks and rebuilding efforts.
2000s
Peace talks resumed in January 2000, with both sides attempting to end the military conflict and aiming at restoring political and economic normality to Casamance. Discussions were held about the MFDC transforming into a political party, but the talks were hindered by the MFDC's factionalism, and the refusal of the Senegalese government to even consider Casamance's independence. As result, the peace talks collapsed in November 2000, with MFDC leader Augustin Diamacoune Senghor declaring that his group would continue to fight until achieving independence. A new ceasefire was agreed to in March 2001, but failed to stop the conflict. Meanwhile, internal divisions deepened among the MFDC about the movement's aims and Senghor's leadership.
On 30 December 2004, the two sides of the conflict signed a truce, which lasted until August 2006.
Since the split, low-level fighting has continued in the region. Another round of negotiations took place in 2005. Its results proved partial, and armed clashes between the MFDC and the army continued in 2006, prompting thousands of civilians to flee across the border to the Gambia. At the same time, the MFDC factions of Sadio and Badiatte also fought each other.
On 13 January 2007, Senghor died in Paris. His death hastened the split of the MDFC, which divided into three major armed factions, led by Salif Sadio, Caesar Badiatte, and Mamadou Niantang Diatta respectively. In addition, several smaller groups also emerged later on. Sadio claimed overall leadership of the MFDC's armed wing.