Gambia expresses ‘deep concern’ over Senegal border incident

The Gambia expressed “deep concern” Friday following what it called a “profoundly provocative” border incursion by the Senegalese Armed Forces, which it said demolished a fence at a military post.

The fence, part of The Gambia’s Bulock Military Border Post in the West Coast Region, was located along a contested border zone.

The tiny country traces west Africa’s Gambia river, and is surrounded by Senegal on all sides, except for its Atlantic coast.

In a statement by its government spokesman, The Gambia alleged that a section of its base’s perimeter fence was “demolished without prior consultation” on Thursday, and expressed “deep concern over the unfortunate incident”.

“While The Gambia considers this action profoundly provocative and totally unacceptable, the government remains fully committed to resolving the matter peacefully through dialogue” and other diplomatic channels, the spokesman said.

The Gambia said it was calling on the Senegalese Armed Forces “to exercise maximum restraint and to ensure that any future concerns relating to the common border are addressed exclusively through the established bilateral mechanisms”.

Senegal’s foreign ministry referred to “encroachments affecting Senegal’s territorial integrity” in a statement on Friday evening.

“The area in question has, for several years, been the subject of discussions between the competent authorities of the two countries,” the statement read.