By Yunus S Saliu
Several indigenes and other residents of Karunorr village in Casamance are nothing but refugees outside their native home as MFDC forces settle down in the village since 2000 till now.
Karunorr village with approximate population of less than two thousand located in the Southern part of Casamance is just few kilometers away from Karunorr village in Foni Kansala District, West Coast Region, The Gambia. Some residents and natives of Karunorr in Casamance escaped to neighboring villages and Gambia in 2000 when the MFDC forces moved base to the village due to the prolong war between the Senegalese troops and MFDC rebels.
According to Mammet Jatta, a native of Karunorr, Casamance resides in Brikama, West Coast Region, The Gambia, “Casamance conflict is almost forty years, because I can remember very well when the MFDC come to our village in 2001 and since then they are occupying the village.”
Since their invasion, he said, people started fleeing the village, some are killed or disappear and some of the indigenes whereabouts remain unknown.
“Those of us that fled the village years back still find it difficult to return, it is not safe for us, and it is gunshots every day. No one can tell when this problem will solve,” he lamented.
Narrating his experience, Modou Sanneh a friend to Mammet is an unlettered young man “I’m above 30 years old but I still remember that 2000/2001 when these rebels moved to our village in Karunorr, they killed and abducted some people especially young boys. Among these abducted young boys is use as fighters or being killed.”
More so, he said, “men and young boys from this area and the closed neighbouring villages are seeing by the Senegalese soldiers as part of the MFDC fighters, which is making life terrible and unbearable for everyone and this continued to happen on a daily basis.”
He was able to flee from his village to The Gambia with few other family members having farms around the border as his father mandated them to leave to avoid been killed by the rebels.
“We are young people suffering from what we don’t know how it started but my father said it is all about independence because the MFDC fighters believed that Casamance is a country of its own,” Modou Sanneh said warily.
Speaking on condition of anonymity is a woman in her late 30s, she said since MFDC forces invaded Karunorr those who were able to fled the village cannot go back for the fear of been killed. This is because they recognize each other especially that there are some people who their names are with the MFDC fighters. This is not just a situation for the native alone but all the surrounding villages and even anybody no matter where the person come from must face intimidation from either the MFDC fighters or Senegalese soldiers.
“Basically this is a war they shoot sporadically in territory without any specific time but when they feel like. Just like they started shooting and killing last month (13th March 2021) you might think it stop, no. Because every day people are missing and not found alive,” she said.
She felt bad as her mood suddenly changed while she went on narrating what made her fled the village in 2012, “I could remember very well in 2012, when a young boy called Khalifa Colley living in the neighborhood got missing from the village. We got the information later that he was whisked away to join the freedom fighters but two months later Khalipha Colley parent – Enor and Wuyeh Colley were identified in a meeting summoned by these people. They were taken away towards the Casamance town and few minutes later there were gunshots.”
Few minutes later after the gunshots, the villagers rushed towards the border they met them (Enor and Wuyeh Colley) in pool of blood, dead, she said.
However, the on-going conflict in Casamance is not confined in only Casamance, is affecting all the neighboring villages including Karunorr; Bagigha, Bassen; Jabbujorr; Belanian; Leufeu; Kaloubalou; Kantapor; Dielinkine; Balaougono; Toukara and the whole Foni District in The Gambia.
However, the latest on-going strike occurred 13th March 2022 in Casamance between the Senegalese troops and MFDC rebels is a great concern to The Gambia because, approximately the distance between Casamance is just 3 to 4 kilometers to The Gambia.
According to the National Disaster Management Agency Gambia infographic “On the 13th March, around 13:45 GMT the Senegalese launched a military operation in the southern region of Senegal (Casamance) impacting all the Gambian border communities in Foni and the nearby districts. The districts affected in Foni are Kansala, Bintang Karanai, Berefet, Jarrol and Bondali. The population displacement is as result of the clashes between Senegalese soldiers and the MFDC separatist movement. While the attack and clashes are in Senegal bullets have landed in The Gambia, causing panic and displacement of populations along all Gambian border villages and some Senegalese villages in Casamance moving into The Gambia.”
More so, the NDMA infographic revealed that: “total of 9,973 are currently affected with 5,626 internally displaced, 2,029 of which are children under 5 years; 7,044 students affected; 374 pregnant and lactating women affected, 691 refugees and 3,656 host families.
“The population displacement is as result of the clash between Senegalese soldiers and the MFDC. While the clash was taking place in Senegal, bullet shells have reportedly landed in the border communities, causing panic and displacement among them with some Senegalese villages in the Casamance also moving into The Gambia.”
However, the Casamance conflict has cost thousands of lives, military and civilian. Although no accurate figures exist, thousands of people have been displaced and made refugees.