Thirteen youths were killed on Saturday by "armed elements" in the Casamance region of southern Senegal, an area ravaged by armed conflict for more than three decades, a security source said. The separatists have long argued that their region is culturally distinct from the rest of Senegal, and has suffered from inattentive governments in the country’s capital, Dakar. The bloodshed confirmed late Saturday by Col. Abdoul Ndiaye was the worst in years and immediately sparked fears of renewed unrest in the south, where separatists have sought independence for more than 30 years in the West African nation. It was not clear who was responsible for what the motive was for the attack on a group of civilians searching for firewood near the town of Borofaye and about 10 km (six miles) from the Guinea Bissau border, said army spokesman Abdoul Ndiaye. Casamance, separated from the rest of Senegal by The Gambia, has been calm for several years since Sall took power in 2012, though peace talks have failed to yield a definitive settlement. While no immediate claim of responsibility for the slayings was made, suspicion fell on the separatist group founded in 1982 known as the Movement of Democratic Forces of Casamance. Abdoulaye Balde, a former armed forces minister and deputy mayor of Ziguinchor, told AFP those responsible were likely "not fully associated with the peace process" in a region where rebels began fighting in December 1982 -- though they have long ceased attacks on soldiers. The attack came a day after the army released two MFDC fighters following negotiations spearheaded by Rome’s Community of Sant’Egidio, a charity with ties to the Vatican specialising in peace mediation.
Gunmen kill 13 people near the town of Ziguinchor, Senegal.