Aryanews- The Senegalese army says it has achieved its objective of "cleaning out" separatist rebel bases from part of the restive Casamance region, local media reported Saturday.
Regional commander Colonel Nguirane Ndiaye told journalists the army had "achieved its objective" to "clean out" rebel positions south of Ziguinchor, the biggest city in the Casamance, the Senegalese Press Agency reported.
The army has now switched its focus to the areas of Diabir, Baraf, Kassana and Bankou-Ouleng in Casamance, which is separated from the rest of Senegal by Gambia and has been racked by separatist unrest since 1982..
"The aim of the intervention was to restore the authority of the state," Ndiaye said on the margins of a meeting preparing national independence celebrations in the region, to take place on April 4.
In mid-March the army launched a vast operation south of Ziguinchor in which four soldiers were killed by rebel fire and 11 injured. One civilian was killed in the same period.
The latest violence coincided with the tenth anniversary in office of President Abdoulaye Wade on March 19, who came into office after four decades of socialist power.
When he came to power in 2000, the head of state promised to solve the problem of the Casamance rebellion within "100 days". However, while a 2004 peace accord signed went some way towards easing tensions, clashes never ceased entirely and have mounted again in the past six months.
On March 27, Senegalese Prime Minister Souleymane Ndene Ndiaye announced the government was "ready to receive" leaders of the separatist Movement of Democratic Forces of Casamance (MFDC) for consultation.
While a low-level conflict, the Casamance independence rebellion is the longest running in West Africa.
The poor region has been ravaged by conflict between government forces and separatist rebels since 1982, a blight on an otherwise stable Senegal.