Welcome, Peace

Senegal reached a historic peace agreement with separatist rebels in the country’s southern region of Casamance this week, ending one of Africa’s longest-running conflicts, Africanews reported Monday.

According to local reports, Senegalese Prime Minister Ousmane Sonko and leaders of the Movement of Democratic Forces of Casamance (MFDC) signed the deal Sunday following three days of negotiations brokered by neighboring Guinea-Bissau.

Sonko described the deal as “an important agreement which is a very big step towards peace in Casamance.”

The southern Casamance region – mostly cut off from the rest of the West African country by The Gambia – has been mired in conflict since 1982, when security forces crushed an MFDC-led demonstration, driving armed separatists into the bush, according to Agence France-Presse.

The fighting has killed thousands of people and devastated much of the region’s economy.

While the MFDC has sought Casamance’s independence for decades, recent years have seen renewed peace efforts.

In 2023, more than 250 rebels surrendered their weapons in the separatist stronghold of Mongone.

Meanwhile, Senegalese authorities have begun resettling displaced communities as they dismantle rebel bases, including those near the Guinea-Bissau border.