Senegal’s president, Macky Sall, has opted for a policy of anticipation after seeing how in recent years the jihadist threat has been spreading from Mali to other countries in the region and has therefore proceeded to strengthen the military presence in the east of the country, in addition to promoting basic services such as education and health.
Although to date the country has not recorded any attacks, in a report published in February 2021, the UN warned that elements of the Support Group for Islam and Muslims (JNIM), Al Qaeda’s affiliate in the Sahel, were already «implanted in Senegal». In addition, about a hundred Senegalese have left the country to join various terrorist groups since 2012.
In 2021, four people were also arrested near the border in connection with the Katiba Macina, one of the organizations that make up JNIM. The Al Qaeda affiliate has recently increased its presence and activity in the province of Kayes, bordering Senegal.
In these circumstances, Sall proceeded to inaugurate last December 27 a new military base in Goudiry, in the region of Tambacounda, bordering Mali. The president explained that the new facilities are part of his vision to modernize the country’s defense in order to «bring it up to the level of the growing complexity of security threats».
ANTICIPATING AND SECURITY OVERVIEW Given the constant threats to the stability of countries, he said, «it is up to us to anticipate and above all to ensure the preservation of an environment of peace and security, the only guarantee of the tranquility necessary for the economic and social development of our country».
The Goudiry base, where the fourth infantry battalion will be installed, «will give more coherence to the security system in the border strip», Sall stressed, emphasizing the efforts of the Armed Forces to «adapt to the evolution of the regional strategic context and better respond to the security needs of the population».
The choice of the location of the base, justified the president, was not «fortuitous» but was made precisely because of the importance of this city, since the train and the national road linking the region to the Malian border converge there. In addition, a high school was recently inaugurated and the first stone of a health center was laid.
According to the regional director of the Timbuktu Institute, Bakary Sambe, Senegal has opted for a mixed «strategy» that involves, on the one hand, strengthening security and, on the other, «working on development» by building infrastructure and providing services in an area where the population has hitherto felt marginalized by Dakar.
This, he stresses, contributes «to the resilience of local communities» in the face of jihadist groups while denying them cover from the local population. «Mali’s border countries must take precautions to prevent terrorist groups from taking advantage of the fragile security environment, isolation and territorial marginalization to operate there,» warns Sambe, who also draws attention to the need to focus on prevention and not only on the fight against terrorism.
VULNERABILITY TO GOLD MINES According to a study published at the end of 2021 by the Institute for Security Studies (ISS) and the Center for Higher Defense and Security Studies (CHEDS) in Senegal, given that gold mines are one of the sources of financing for jihadists in the Sahel, the regions of Kédougou and Tambacounda would be «vulnerable».
Both regions bordering Mali — for whose security the new military base will be responsible — are the main gold producers in the country. In the case of Kédougou, it is home to 98% of the gold mining sites identified in the country, while the remaining 2% is in Tambacounda.
The report draws attention to the fact that in these regions there is a whole series of circumstances that the jihadists have already been able to take advantage of in other areas of the Sahel to extend their influence and their presence.
Gold deposits «offer opportunities for violent extremist groups to generate financial resources by providing security for these sites or by mining or selling gold,» the report notes, stressing that they also «offer them the opportunity to obtain explosives and train in their use.»
The persistence of artisanal and clandestine mining and the holes in the gold trade found in these areas are also a factor that would facilitate the presence of jihadists, according to the report, which also highlights the «feeling of exclusion of the population, resulting from the socio-economic insecurity of the area, which contrasts with the richness of its subsoil».
The wealth generated by the gold does not revert in improving the lives of the inhabitants of this part of the country, where almost 62% lived in poverty in 2021.
«Socioeconomic disparities and environmental and health impacts that could exacerbate identified vulnerabilities must be reduced,» claim ISS and CHEDS, who believe this would help limit opportunities for these groups to establish themselves in this part of the country and recruit among its population.
Source: (EUROPA PRESS)
