In wake of the fact-finding mission spearheaded by the National Security Council (NSC), Foni Bintang Karanai National Assembly Member (NAM), Bakary K. Bagie, has decried the intermittent incursions of Senegalese army into the area.
Taking the gloves off, Bakary K. Badjie, went straight to the point in unveiling the plight of his constituents as they are facing recurrent attacks coming from the other side of the border.
Last Monday, top officials of the country’ security apparatus toured borderline communities of Foni to assess the impacts of the collateral damages inflicted on them by the ongoing conflict in Casamance, Senegal. They also interacted with village chieftains, traditional authorities and local NAMs as part of their efforts to collect the right information.
The Foni Bintang Karanai lawmaker thanked his community for being patient in face a lot of adversity.
He then welcomed the move taken by members of the National Security Council (NSC) to visit Gifanga and other affected areas.
Chaired by President Adama Barrow, the NSC deals with all security matters affecting the nation.The interface they had with borderline communities was conducted in a democratic manner as villagers were allowed to speal the bean.
Diving deep into the Casamance crisis, the Foni Bintang Karanai parliamentarian noted that Senegalese and MFDC have been fighting for a very long time.
“Now, what we ask is for you to replace the Senegalese soldiers with Nigerian or Ghanean soldiers,” he said, provoking a wave of applause from the audience.
In the aftermath of the 2016 election impasse, the regional bloc ECOWAS decided to send troops into Gambia. Senegal, Nigeria and Ghana are part of the countries that deployed soldiers under the banner of ECOMIG.
According to Badjie, these forces are all equal in terms of maintaining peace and stability in the country.
He further stated they cannot still understand why it is difficult for Gambia government to remove the Senegalese soldiers in the Fonis, and to bring in Nigerian or Ghanean soldiers who have not been in conflict with the rebels in Southern Senegal.
“We cannot stop the rebels from coming into Fonis. It is the responsibility of Gambia Armed Forces (GAF), all the security sectors,” he emphasized.
Badjie made it clear that the country’s law enforcement body, the army have to prevent the Casamance insurgents from finding their way into the country.
But he was quick to indicate: “Whenever we see them (the rebels), we will alert the Gambia armed forces.” He then added that the army should not take that as an excuse to bombard the villages.
