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A Senegalese soldier was killed and six others wounded on Wednesday during military operations to destroy Indian hemp fields in the Casamance region near The Gambia, the army said Thursday.
In a statement, the armed forces said troops “engaged with a group of armed individuals in the Kadialock area” and that some of the assailants were also killed.
The army added that operations would continue to “combat the cultivation of cannabis, hunt down all armed groups and secure the local populations and their property.”
Casamance, Senegal’s southernmost region, is separated from the rest of the country by The Gambia and has a distinct culture and language influenced by its Portuguese colonial past.
The region has experienced one of Africa’s longest-running conflicts, with separatists withdrawing to the bush after protests in December 1982.
Though the conflict has claimed thousands of lives and devastated the local economy, violence has subsided in recent years.
Officials have accused separatists of trafficking cannabis and timber, often seeking refuge across borders in The Gambia or Guinea-Bissau.
In February, the Senegalese government and separatist groups signed a peace accord following their first public talks since March of last year.
