Senegalese fleeing to Gambia from clashes in south now total 6,200, UN reports

Refugees from Senegal’s southern Casamance region, fleeing sporadic fighting between Government and separatist forces, continue to pour into Gambia, with the number now reaching 6,200 since mid-August, the United Nations refugee agency reported today.

More than 800 Senegalese crossed the border during the past two weeks alone, UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) spokesperson Jennifer Pagonis told a news briefing in Geneva.

“To strengthen the local humanitarian network, UNHCR signed an agreement with the Gambian Red Cross Society, which will ensure the distribution of UNHCR relief items and assistance until the end of the year,” she said. “We are also looking at covering the medical expenses of Senegalese refugees admitted and cared for in medical facilities in the Sibanore area.”

UN agencies have been mobilized to provide food and humanitarian aid. In addition to coordinating relief operations, UNHCR this month distributed a thousand blankets, mattresses, kitchen utensils, jerry cans and soap. Similar assistance was also provided to Gambian families hosting refugees.

The Senegalese are presently sheltered in 46 villages in the Sibanore region, some 90 kilometres east of Gambia’s capital, Banjul. They are staying with host families of similar cultural and linguistic background, but accommodation capacity is running low. In August, local authorities were forced to open a local school and a training centre as there was no more room in local households or in host compounds.

Casamance, located south of Gambia, has been the scene of sporadic fighting between the Senegalese armed forces and the separatist Movement of Democratic Forces of Casamance since 1982. The latest influx, starting in mid-August, was prompted by renewed tensions between the two.