One soldier identified as Staff Sergeant Nfally Sonko was killed and six wounded after a Senegalese military detachment conducting routine operations to destroy cannabis fields clashed with a group of armed individuals in a locality in Casamance.
The skirmish took place in the Kadialock area, north of Sindian County, near the Gambian border, leaving several of the armed group neutralised.
The General Staff of the Senegalese Armed Forces in a statement on Friday, revealed details of the clashes between a detachment from Military Zone No 5 and the armed individuals.
The incident occurred on the morning of 12th March, while the military units were carrying out operations to destroy cannabis fields in the area.
According to the statement signed by Captain Ibrahima Sow, Director of Information and Public Relations for the Armed Forces, the operations are continuing in the area, with the objectives of destroying Indian hemp farms, tracking down armed groups, and securing the population and their property.
The Kadialock area, located in the department of Sindian, Ziguinchor region, southern Senegal, is a forested region bordering The Gambia known for the presence of illicit cannabis crops.
It also remains marked by decades of tension linked to the Casamance seperatist conflict, although the security situation there has witnessed notable improvements in recent years.
APA
