Riot police fired tear gas as the people Manduar Mandinka and those of Manduar Touba Wollof clashed on Tuesday.
Tension broke out over voter registration with sources saying the people of Manduar Mandinka have insisted that Manduar is just one village where everyone should register the village’s only registration centre. The people of Touba Manduar see themselves as a separate village and that they should be in charge of their own voter registration, according to one source.
The people of Manduar Mandinka see the Wollofs as strangers who only recently came and settled in Manduar and so cannot build a village within a village, one person said.
However, another person said the Manduar Touba Wollof people have had their own alkalo since 2012 and so it was only fair their alkalo uses his own stamp to issue attestation.
He added: “Today’s clashes are as a result of Manduar Mandinka villagers’ refusal for Touba Manduar residents attested by their own alkalo to be registered at the registration centre.”
Riot police fired teas gar and arrested a number of people, The Fatu Network understands.
Police spokesman Lamin Njie could not immediately comment on the issue.
