The Mouvement des Forces Democratiques de Casamance (MFDC), a separatist group, and the Senegalese defense forces have been engaged in intense fighting recently. On Monday, a delegation from the National Security Council traveled to Fony to evaluate the situation and share intelligence with those escaping for their lives.

Reports of stray gunshots and mortar bombs from the Casamance battle line entering Gambian villages in Foni have been verified. Faced with the scary prospect of fleeing their villages and possessions, numerous people in Foni are caught in the crossfire of ongoing military operations by Senegalese forces against the MFDC separatist group in Casamance.

The National Security Council is conducting an investigation. On this tour, members of the National Security Council (NSC), comprised of security chiefs, set foot in the impacted districts for the first time to hear and assess the problem before reporting to the President, who serves as Chairman of the National Security Council.

Foni communities desperately seeking protection from The Gambia government

Pa Sanyang is Gikess Dando’s Hamlet alkalo in the Foni. “Whenever there is a fight across the border, all the villagers think about is, Let’s move our children and our families outside.”

Local residents informed the National Security Council team that the gunshots and mortar bombs that are occurring in their areas are becoming increasingly dangerous, forcing people to flee to other parts of the country, destroying property, and interfering with agriculture and education.

Alkalo of Jakkyll, Ousman Jarjue, expresses the sentiments and experiences of his people. Does Fony belong in the Gambia? Why is their own government unable to defend Foni? I have nothing to say, but what can Foni, the Gambian people, do? How can you assist Foni? Our lives have been in danger up until now, particularly those of us who reside near the border. Senegal’s or Casamance’s border is not human-made; it belongs to God.”

The National Security Council group was escorted by members of the National Assembly from the Foni seats. Their appeal and hope are a long-term fix for their people’s precarious predicament.

Among them is Almamy Gibba. “We’ll allow them time to receive the information they’ve evaluated. Since the president is the head of the Security Council, they will go to him after having seen it for themselves. And we’ll be perched upon them. We’ll be reminding them to see to it that it gets resolved. As of right now, Senegal’s conflict is still going on. We will notify them if shells continue to land and our families continue to flee and evacuate without anything being done.”

‘The Gambia is in touch with Senegal to fix the problem’

”The Gambia is a sovereign country, and we are not to choose or tell Senegal when they will cease military activities,” Sering Modou Njie, the defense minister, said. Our aim is to ensure that at least such occurrences can be contained within Senegal’s borders. And our business and interest as members of the National Security Council is to ensure that we offer the security that our people require, as well as to continue to interact with our counterparts to see that those cells and stray bullets that land in our territory are apprehended.”

Since 1982, Casamance has been a site of armed clashes between the Senegalese army and the Mouvement des forces démocratiques de la Casamance. Tensions increased in January 2022 after the MFDC captured seven Senegalese soldiers and killed two of them. The Senegalese military now aims to dismantle the MFDC’s bases.