The rebel leader, César Atoute Badiate, at the head of a unit of the Movement of Democratic Forces of Casamance (MFDC), and an envoy of the Senegalese President, Macky Sall, ratified the agreement at the presidency of the Republic of Guinea-Bissau .
“You entered the maquis when I was 10 years old. Today, I have 50. I think that’s enough now. (…) How many people died, mutilated or left their villages? We will accompany you in the search for peacedeclared the Bissau-Guinean Head of State Umaro Sissoco Embalo, addressing César Atoute Badiate. I can assure you that we will be the guarantors of this agreement.“
No detail has filtered on the contours of this document which remains, for the time being, confidential.
The Senegalese leader, Macky Sall, congratulated this progress on his Twitter account.
“I welcome the peace and laying down of arms agreement signed on August 4 in Bissau between Senegal and the provisional committee of the political and combatant wings of the MFDC. I remain committed to the consolidation of lasting peace in Casamance.“
I welcome the Peace and Arms Agreement signed on August 4 in Bissau between Senegal and the Provisional Committee of Political and Combatant Wings of the MFDC. I remain committed to the consolidation of lasting peace in Casamance. I thank the Prsdt @USEmbalo for his mediation. pic.twitter.com/s9AVJ2MJDr
— Macky Sall (@Macky_Sall) August 4, 2022
He also thanks his Bissau-Guinean counterpart and current president of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), for his mediation.
Macky Sall made “final peace” in Casamance one of the priorities of his second term. His negotiations for a settlement of the conflict had, until then, not resulted in a definitive agreement. The fault in particular of divisions within the MFDC.
Several thousand dead
The Movement of Democratic Forces of Casamance (MFDC) has been waging a low-intensity conflict since 1982, causing several thousand deaths.
This conflict remained latent until the Senegalese army launched a major offensive against the rebels in January 2021.
The Casamance rebels, accused of trafficking in wood and cannabis, have often taken refuge in Gambia or Guinea-Bissau, which also has a common border with Senegal.
Casamance was a Portuguese possession for several centuries before being ceded to the French colonial empire in 1888. It was integrated into Senegal at the time of its independence in 1960.
(Re)see: The Senegalese army facing the Casamance rebellion