SUMMARY
Since gaining independence from France in 1960, as part of the Mali Federation, the main body of Senegal and the southernmost region of Casamançe have gradually drifted further apart in their political ambitions. In the early 1980s, the MFDC (Mouvement des forces démocratiques de Casamançe) re-emerged with the aspiration of gaining independence from the Senegalese state, mainly due to perceived economic and political injustices. Since its re-emergence, MFDC emerged as an ambiguous and multivalent enterprise, which quickly caused internal splits. The early years of the conflict only saw sporadic clashes, but the state-based conflict has, at times, been extremely brutal, especially throughout the 1990s. There have been repeated negotiations between the parties during the conflict, leading to a number of temporary ceasefires. However, it was not until the end of the 1990s and beginning of the 2000s that the violence gradually de-escalated.
Casamançe conflict
Since MFDC’s (Mouvement des forces démocratiques de Casamançe) re-emergence, a large majority of the violence taking place in Senegal has somehow been a part of or related to the conflict. Though the Casamançe conflict has mainly been characterised by state-based violence, there have also been numerous instances of one-sided violence, both from the government- and the MFDC-side towards civilians.
The overarching dyad in Senegal has thus been between the Government of Senegal and the MFDC. As the MFDC organised both politically and through armed wings, the Government of Senegal answered and retaliated through both dimensions. While the Government of Senegal pursued an administrative reorganisation to remove the term Casamançe from official discourse, they were also taking more forceful measures. These measures could at times be as brutal as crop destruction, internment, summary executions, and at times even clearances of entire villages. Though the Government of Senegal therefore openly stated its incompatibility towards the MFDC, the civilian population suffered heavy losses, often causing them to flee into the neighbouring countries, Gambia and Guinea-Bissau.
Several pauses in the violence were made possible through ceasefires throughout the 1990s, explaining the ups and downs in the graph on Number of Deaths. These ceasefires took place in 1991, 1994, and 1996. Besides these ceasefires, the conflict remained active throughout the 1990s and into the 2000s, where it was gradually de-escalating.
Developments since 2004
In 2004, the Government of Senegal and MFDC signed a five-point peace process agreement where the MFDC renounced the armed struggle, while the government granted amnesty to the rebels and pledged to integrate them in paramilitary units on a voluntary basis. Augustin Diamacoune Senghor, the leader of the political wing of the rebel group, was the signatory on behalf of the MFDC. Though said to represent the rebel group in its entirety, at least three factions announced that they would not be signing or respecting the accord: hard-line factions called the Diedhiou group, Diaspora elements and the Northern Front. In spite of several groups refusing to adhere to the agreement, close to all state-based violence was eliminated until the end of the agreement in 2007. The death of Augustin Diamacoune Senghor on January 13, 2007, triggered clashes between the Government of Senegal and the main faction of the MFDC, led by Caesar Badiate. Though the agreement had been nullified by Badiate, little violence seemingly followed right away.
Instead, from 2008 and onwards the state-based conflict between the Government of Senegal and the MFDC slowly increased. The years 2009 - 2010 saw an escalation of the violence in Casamançe, albeit not to the extent that it crossed the 25 battle-related deaths threshold whereby it would be recorded as an active conflict. There were a number of reasons given for the upsurge of fighting. One factor emphasized by many was the fact that the peace process remained deadlocked, which was a cause of great frustration among the rebel ranks. Another factor was the developments in neighboring Guinea-Bissau. In March 2009, both the countries' Commander in Chief Tagme Na War and President Nino Viera were shot to death. Despite the fact that the military claimed that this was not part of a coup and that the country continued to be run by a civilian administration, many in Senegal were worried about how this would affect the two countries' relationship. The attitude of the Bissau regime towards the Casamançe conflict has had a substantial impact on developments on the ground, and the cooperation between Dakar and Bissau 2000 - 2009 was an important contributing factor to why the region was calmer during these years than during the 1990s.
The previous clashes continued into 2011, causing relatively high fatality figures. Despite the fact that the period July - November saw a de-escalation of the fighting, a new upsurge in December 2011 caused the 25 battle-related deaths threshold to be crossed. The conflict was subsequently recorded as active in 2011, for the first time in seven years. The fighting continued at a relatively high level during the first months of the following year, but then de-escalated. Parallel, new negotiations between the newly elected President Macky Sall and a faction of the MFDC were underway, resulting in the 2014 agreement on confidence-building measures. Following the agreement, there were nor are any signs of continued state-based conflict.
During this time, non-state violence within the country remained low, with one expectation. In 2006, two hardliner factions, one led by Salif Sadio based in southern Casamançe close to the Guinea-Bissau border, and the other by rival MFDC leader Magne Dieme, based in northern Casamançe, also referred to as the MFDC Front Nord - MD - MFDC - S dyad, clashed. Neither of the groups had signed the 2004 agreement. The clash resulted in over 100 deaths spread over two weeks, however, the division of how many were killed from each side still remains unclear. Since then, there have not been any recorded deaths in the non-state dyad.
Pre- 1989 conflits
The period after Senegal’s independence from France in 1960 until the 1980s did not experience any larger incidents resulting in a large number of fatalities. Thus, there were no active conflicts in accordance with UCDP’s definitions which took place in Senegal during this time.
However, worth mentioning, is the reported deaths from the urban protests and labour strikes that took place during the 1960s and 1970s. As the people took to the streets, security forces responded harshly. These clashes resulted in a number of deaths, however, estimates vary on the exact numbers.
Some small-scale clashes also took place between the MFDC and the Government of Senegal after MFDC’s re-emergence in 1982 as tensions rose and parts of the group radicalised. Neither during these incidents, an exact number of fatalities have been established. Subsequently, the more complex and deadly part of the Casamançe conflict took place after 1989.
Additionally, Senegal was a secondary warring party in the conflicts in the Gambia (1981) and in Guinea-Bissau (1998-99). In both cases Senegalese troops were sent in support of the government side in the conflicts.
Since 1946, Senegal has thus experienced the state-based, non-state and one-sided categories of UCDP organised violence.
