Separatist Movement leader Salif Sadio, the man at the helm of the Movement of Democratic Forces of Casamance (MFDC) has accused the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) of transforming The Gambia into a battleground to fight his separatist movement. An action which he says has grave consequences.
According to Sadio the reason why he chose to stand down during the recent shootout with Senegalese forces is because children had to go to school. These children he said he considers his children and their parents his people.
He warned the Gambian Government to desist from interfering in engagements between his movement and Senegal forces to avoid the death of innocent civilians mostly Gambians.
“Your army and their uniforms do not faze me. There is only one thing in war, you either kill or you are killed. War is an art to me, and I am not afraid of it. Tell Gambia I said this must not be repeated. I stood down this time, but I won’t next time it happens. I will kill even if my wife or child is there. This fight is between me and Senegal,” he said sternly.
The Casamance conflict is an ongoing low-level conflict that has been waged between the Government of Senegal and the Movement of Democratic Forces of Casamance (MFDC) since 1982. On May 1, 2014, the leader of the MFDC sued for peace and declared a unilateral ceasefire.
The MFDC has called for the independence of the Casamance region, whose population is religiously and ethnically distinct from the rest of Senegal. The bloodiest years of the conflict were during the 1992–2001 period and resulted in over a thousand battle-related deaths.
