Foreign Affairs minister faults Senegal of unilateral border action
The Gambia has accused Senegal of acting unilaterally in a recent border incident that saw the demolition of boundary pillars and part of the perimeter wall of Gambian military installations, raising fresh concerns over the management of the border between the two countries.
Minister of Foreign Affairs, International Cooperation and Gambians Abroad, Hon. Sering Modou Njie, made the disclosure during an interview on Coffee Time with Peter Gomez, saying the incident occurred on July 16 in the border areas of Bulock.
“What happened, Peter, recently on the 16th of July, Senegal acted unilaterally I can say that,” Minister Njie said.
According to the minister, Senegalese Armed Forces were used to demolish boundary pillars and the perimeter wall of Gambian military installations.
He said President Adama Barrow responded by directing the Gambian Armed Forces to exercise maximum restraint, de-escalate the situation and maintain peace.
The minister said the government believes border matters should be addressed through diplomacy and dialogue rather than military action, pointing to existing agreements between The Gambia and Senegal.
“There is no way that it has been spelled out that the issue must be solved or resolved militarily, all that has been said was that we need to continue to engage. We need to use diplomacy. We need to use dialogue. We need to communicate,” he said.
Njie said President Barrow subsequently dispatched him to Dakar as a special envoy to deliver a message to Senegalese President Bassirou Diomaye Faye.
He said the message was that the military should have no role in resolving border management issues and that such matters should be left to institutions established by both countries.
The dispute has also affected Gambian farmers who cultivate land in Senegal. Njie said Senegal had decided to prevent Gambian farmers, some of whom had farmed there for hundreds of years, from accessing their farmlands.
He said the development came as a surprise to The Gambia, stressing that farmers on both sides depend heavily on agriculture.
Following consultations between the two foreign ministers and technical experts, Njie said the two national boundary commissions agreed to converge in Banjul.
He said the commissions have since met, with the remaining issue being to allow farmers from both countries to return to their farmlands and continue farming.
“I think it should be resolved by now,” Njie said.
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