On Monday February 14th, Separatists in the Casamance region of Senegal released seven Senegalese Soldiers following successful negotiations between the separatists and the Economic Community of West African States(ECOWAS). The Senegalese soldiers were taken captive by the separatist Movement of Democratic Forces of Casamance (MFDC) last month after a violent confrontation between the two groups. The conflict took place on January 24th and resulted in the death of two other senegalese soldiers as well as the death of at least one separatist fighter and the capture of three others. Senegal’s Military reported that the altercation took place on the Gambia and Casamance border. However, there was a dispute between the MFDC and the Senegalese Military whether the soldiers were seized in Gambia or if they had crossed over into Senegal to pursue the separatists. The Senegalese troops were deployed as part of a multinational effort to monitor and combat illegal logging activities carried out by the MFDC within this region. Despite the dispute, the captive soldiers were received at the Gambian border by ECOWAS officials and were returned in good health.

Prior to the soldiers’ release, the leader of the MFDC Salif Sadio stated in reference to the negotiations effort that, “This meeting is very important for us and is really a historic moment in our search for security and sustainable development in West Africa.” In addition to this statement, the MFDC representative at the release, Pape Sané, stated that “We are releasing the captured soldiers on humanitarian grounds. We do not need money, anything and absolutely nothing. We are just going to hand-over your soldiers for you (ECOWAS) to hand them over to their family members.” Both of these statements, as reported by The Voice newspaper in Gambia, show an overall peaceful stance taken by the MFDC. Similarly, the Gambian government released a statement saying that they wished to remain neutral in this ongoing conflict between the MFDC and Senegalese Military. 

Though this conflict began with violence, the negotiations which took place following it were overall very peaceful and this shows promise for the future of the region. All parties involved were intent on regional stability despite the underlying hostilities. The use of Gambia as well as the ECOWAS as neutral third parties to the conflict aided in the facilitation of peace talks. Continued use of neutral figures will be vital as continued peace and stability is pursued within Casamance. 

The Casamance region of Senegal has been under conflict for the past four decades since the founding of the MFDC in 1982. Casamance has a different culture and language from the rest of Senegal as well as being isolated geographically by The Gambia River. This has ultimately driven their desire for independence as a region. Despite the ongoing conflict and illegal logging carried out by the MFDC to fund their efforts, relative peace has been in place since the ceasefire declared in 2014. However, the Senegalese government has continued to blame the MFDC for occasional attacks despite their otherwise dormant status. 

The future of the Casamance region in Senegal will depend heavily on further peaceful negotiations aided by third parties. The release of the seven senegalese soldiers by the MFDC is a potentially historic milestone in non-combative peace and prospective independence talks. Gambia will continue to be a key figure in this dispute as its persistent neutrality and geographic location make it a natural facilitator.