Rebels open fire on military quarters

Ziguinchor, Senegal – Rebels in Senegal's southern Casamance province, who have been waging an independence campaign against the Senegalese government in Dakar since 1982, Thursday attacked a camp of the Senegalese army in Magnora, about 80 kilometres north of Ziguinchor,

According to the local press, MFDC rebels opened fire on the military quarters, injuring some of the Senegalese soldiers. This provoked a violent clash with the rebels, who were heavily armed. Following the incident, residents of the area have been holed up in their houses while planes from the Senegalese air force have been carrying reconnaissance missions in the area. Other reports speak of three soldiers killed from the rebel assault and three women injured when the reconnaissance plan dropped explosives on what it thought was a group of rebels. Similar clashes have been intensified in the last two weeks between the two camps. In one of the incidents 27 December, eight Senegalese soldiers were killed in an ambush.

On the other side of this coin, Ziguinchor saw an explosion of peace demonstrations.  About 300 women - Muslim, Catholic, and Guardians of the Sacred Forest - held an all night vigil in the center of town, each group contributing hymns, chants, and songs from their own traditions.  The following morning they marched on the governor's mansion to demand action in favor of peace.  Several hundred boy scouts marched today in four different parts of the city to bring attention to the need to participate in teh movement for peace in Casamance.

In Dakar, the nation's capital, total silence.  The press and the opposition points lots of fingers in all directions but the general population goes about its business like Casamance is far, far away.  I remember experiencing something similar when I lived in northeastern Congo.  People in Kinshasa imagined the conflict to be between ignorant tribes in some rural village. It was always interesting to see people's faces when they would fly into Ituri for a visit and find 5 story buildings, wide paved streets, and a very complex international conflict on Congolese soil.

Not sure what will happen here. But suffice it to say that with daily news of attacks against military targets, it will not be long before the tensions manage to wake the sleeping lion.