Senegal and Gambia consider joint patrols along their common border

APS-Joint military exercises and joint patrols of security forces will be organized by the Senegal and the Gambia along their common border, to ensure the stability of the two countries, announced Thursday in Dakar by the Senegalese Prime Minister Souleymane Ndiaye Ndéné.


Speaking at the end of a two-day meeting of the Advisory Commission on the review of the cooperation between Senegal and Gambia, Mr. Ndiaye said that these initiatives will complement the joint actions that the two countries plan to undertake to fight border crime, drug trafficking and laundering money. The official closing ceremony of the meeting was chaired by the Prime Minister of Senegal Souleymane Ndiaye Ndéné and Vice-President Njie Saidy Issatu Gambia and attended by delegations from the two countries.


The leader of the Senegalese government has also called on customs administrations to accelerate the installation of checkpoints on the border between the two countries. It would be nice to always remember that Senegal and Gambia have a common history, from one family and have the same culture, "said Njie Issatu Saidy.The two sides agreed to do everything to prevent any problem on both sides and to prevent people from finding refuge from both sides of the border, said Senegalese Minister of Foreign Affairs Mr. Madické Niang.Three Senegalese soldiers were killed and six others wounded on Sunday in the Bignona region, bordering the Gambia. Also,since the end of 2010 a dozen Senegalese soldiers died..


Last November, a shipment of weapons from Iran had been seized in Nigeria said to be destined for the Gambia. Weapons, according to news reports, ended up in the hands of the rebel Movement of Democratic Forces of Casamance (MFDC), in southern Senegal .Sénégal, on Tuesday night broke off diplomatic relations with Iran because Iranian made bullets may have caused the death of Senegalese soldiers.In a statement, the Department of Foreign Affairs states that Senegal is shocked to see that Iranian bullets may have caused the death of Senegalese soldiers.


The text cites a report by the General Staff of the Senegalese armed forces forwarded to President Abdoulaye Wade, on the latest developments in the conflict in Casamance, in southern Sénégal.The report "showed that the rebels Movement of Democratic Forces of Casamance have sophisticated weapons that have caused the death of Senegalese soldiers, says this source.


Source:aps.sn