By: Momodou Justice Darboe
The MFDC has been on the back foot since the relaunch last year of attacks by Senegalese troops but competent sources have informed The Voice that the armed group’s setbacks in the frontline were due to the depletion of its arms and ammunitions stocks.
In 2022, MFDC separatists threatened to overrun The Gambia if the country’s political authorities allow it to be used by the Senegalese security as turf to launch attacks in Casamance. As if to drive their point home, heavily-armed separatist fighters belonging to Paul Badian’s faction, entered The Gambia to send the message that there would be consequences for Banjul if should allow its territory to be used as a pad to launch attacks on their bases.
This development caused widespread panic around Urpart, Sibanor, Sutu Sinjang, and neighboring communities.
However, it took just a few weeks before Senegalese tanks, armored cars, and vehicles started roaring through the Gambian town of Farafenni, transporting military hardware and personnel through The Gambia to the frontline in the southern end of the border.
This was followed by sustained Senegalese military operations in Casamance with Senegalese troops employing drone technology and little physical contact on the battlefront.
Meanwhile, MFDC sources have informed The Voice that MFDC lacked the arms and ammunition to stop the Senegalese successes in the frontline though the advance has slowed for some time now.
The use of technology by Senegalese forces has also presented another challenge to the various factions of the MFDC.
“We need more sophisticated weapons to match those of the Senegalese,” an MFDC fighter told this reporter in Urpartweeks before the Senegalese launched fresh attacks in Casamance.
And as if to give credence to his argument, their base in Madiediem, which was just a few meters from Urpart, was overrun by the Senegalese troops sometime last year.
“We had a cache of weapons destroyed because they were buried for safekeeping. I think that was the worst decision made by our leader (Salif Sadio). This has really undermined our capabilities,” a separatist, who spoke on condition of anonymity, told The Voice over the weekend.
The lack of proper weapons coupled with poor training has reportedly hamstrung MFDC’s ability to fight back and retake territories seized from it by the Senegalese forces.
The whereabouts of Salif Sadio and his commanders were not publicly known and some believed they may be in The Gambia or prowling the border villages.