Separatist rebels in Casamance, a region of southern Senegal afflicted by a longstanding separatist conflict, are to free seven Senegalese soldiers taken prisoner in late January, a spokesman said Saturday.

The seven soldiers are members of the West African mission in Gambia (Ecomig).

They will be handed over Monday in The Gambia to the representative of the Community of West African States (ECOWAS), an official of the Movement of Democratic Forces of Casamance (MFDC) said on condition of anonymity

The MDFC captured the seven soldiers during a January 24 clash in which four other soldiers were killed, the Senegalese army said.

The army said the clash took place during an operation to combat illegal logging on the border with The Gambia.

The MFDC is behind a low-intensity breakaway conflict in Senegal's southern region of Casamance that dates back to 1982 and has claimed several thousand lives.

Casamance was a Portuguese possession for several hundred years until it was ceded to colonial France in 1888. It became part of Senegal after the country gained independence in 1960.

The region, which has a distinct culture and language, is separated geographically from the rest of Senegal by the Gambia River, around which lies the tiny state of The Gambia.

France says air strikes kill 40 in Burkina linked to Benin attacks
Paris (AFP) Feb 12, 2022 - French troops in an anti-jihadist mission have killed 40 militants in Burkina Faso linked to deadly attacks this week in neighbouring Benin whose victims included a Frenchman, the army said Saturday.

The French-led Barhane force in the Sahel region "engaged its air intelligence capacities to locate the armed group" responsible for the attacks, before on Thursday carrying out air strikes that killed 40 jihadists, the army's general command said.

The Frenchman was among nine people killed this week in two attacks in the W National Park, a wildlife reserve in Benin's remote north bordering troubled Niger and Burkina Faso.

One patrol trying to flush out poachers and another hit two roadside bombs on Tuesday, killing five park rangers, one park official, one soldier and a French trainer, according to a Beninese government toll.

Two days later, a third patrol hit an explosive, killing another park official.

The toll was the deadliest in recent attacks Benin has suffered as coastal West African states face spillover from Sahel countries battling jihadists.

France said on Thursday it had opened an investigation as a 50-year-old citizen was among those killed in a "terrorist attack" in the park.

African Parks, the organisation running the reserve, said the Frenchman had been a "chief law enforcement instructor" there.

Benin had long been one of the more stable countries in West Africa, where militants from the Islamic State group and Al-Qaeda threaten Sahel countries.

Criminal smuggling gangs also operate along its frontier.

In January, two Benin soldiers were killed when their vehicle hit an improvised explosive in the northern Atakora region.

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EU chief unveils 150-bn-euro investment plan for Africa
Dakar (AFP) Feb 10, 2022
EU chief Ursula von der Leyen on Thursday unveiled plans to muster investment of more than 150 billion euros for Africa, proclaiming Europe to be the continent's biggest and "most reliable" partner. The scheme is the first regional plan of the European Union's Global Gateway - an investment blueprint that seeks to mobilise up to 300 billion euros ($340 billion) for public and private infrastructure around the world by 2027. Seen as a response to China's Belt and Road initiative, the strategy w ... read more