CRD villagers concerned over Casamance rebel incursions The Independent <http://www.qanet.gm/Independent/independent.html> (Banjul) June 23, 2000 By NB Daffeh Banjul - The residents of Joben Saraba, Sare Butty and Amadallai village in Lower Fulladu East, Central River Division have expressed concern over the frequent visits of Casamance rebels to their villages, describing them as 'a threat to our security and a restriction to our movement.' Most of these villages share borders with Senegal. Speaking to The Independent, Ebou Jobe, a 37-year old farmer from Joben said since last year people living in the area frequently see rebels in their villages. He said when they first noticed 'the abnormal visits of the rebels' the villagers alerted police at Brikamaba station, who sent some officers to the area to look into the situation. Yaya Saine of Ahadulla village, just a few meters from the border with Senegal, told The Independent that the rebels usually visit their village to search for food and water. 'Since we are all human beings and we are civilians afraid of armed men, we have to meet their demands,' he said. Mr. Saine further said when they noticed the frequent presence of rebels in their village, parents warned their children not to go out at night. Mr. Saine said at first they always feared being victimised, but that now, 'the rebels seem not to be concerned with Gambians. They come and fetch water from our wells and go peacefully back,' he said. He further narrated that when they reported the matter to the Brikama Police Station, the villagers had a meeting with the police who warned them 'not to be open to rebels. They even warned us not to give them food when they demanded it,' he said. Musa Jang Juldeh Baldeh and Sana Jeng of the same village called on the Gambia Government to deploy security guards to the area in order to protect Gambians and Gambian territory. Musa Jeng explained to The Independent how their movement is restricted by the rebel presence. He said whenever they learn of the rebels' presence they don't visit their friends in other villages during the night. He further accused the rebels of stealing some of their cattle and other animals. He however warned the Gambia Government to be careful when dealing with Casamance. 'The Government should not entertain them, they are not good at all. The Government should send bother guards to warn rebels not to enter our country,' he said. Mamadi Jobe, a hunter of Sare Babu, said 'when I am hunting in the bush I used to enter Senegal's bush unknowingly; but when I meet the rebels and they know that I'm from Gambia, they don't disturb me,' he said. Speaking to The Independent on the issue, C.R.D commissioner Cherno Barra Touray confirmed that the rebels enter some villages in his division. 'Whenever we learn about it security officers are dispatched to the area, but they never found them. These rebels do not normally stay there, they just visit the villages when they are hungry,' he said. He further noted that it would be difficult to establish a permanent security camp in the area. C ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- To unsubscribe/subscribe or view archives of postings, go to the Gambia-L Web interface at: http://maelstrom.stjohns.edu/archives/gambia-l.html ----------------------------------------------------------------------------