ClariNet story SENEGAL-CASAMANCE from AFP Casamance separatists postpone peace forum after clashes Copyright 2001 by Agence France-Presse (via ClariNet) / Fri, 25 May 2001 9:00:10 PDT ZIGUINCHOR, Senegal, May 25 (AFP) - Armed separatists in Senegal's Casamance province, who have split over a peace pact with the government, have postponed a key policy forum because of fighting, their leader said Friday. Augustin Diamacoune Senghor, the veteran leader of the Casamance Movement of Democratic Forces (MFDC), told AFP that a reconciliation forum among rival rebel factions on the "definitive search" for peace was indefinitely delayed. Diamacoune's announcement came in the wake of clashes among rival MFDC groups and between Casamance fighters and troops of neighbouring Guinea-Bissau in the border area. A Roman Catholic priest who has headed the separatist movement during a 19-year campaign in the southern province, Diamacoune said that the talks, due to have been held in Gambia from Monday to Wednesday, were postponed because of "differences within the MFDC" and "the situation on the ground". Guinea-Bissau government troops this week forced more than 1,000 refugees back to Senegal on May 18 after razing their houses and slaughtering their livestock, witnesses said Thursday. An army officer said the aim was to flush out rebels from across the border and urged refugees to denounce armed fighters, but local people said the MFDC forces had retreated to their bases when military reinforcements arrived with automatic rifles and rocket-propelled grenades. Senegalese President Abdoulaye Wade in March signed two peace pacts with Diamacoune and has also sought to firm up good relations with the authorities in Guinea-Bissau and in Gambia, an enclaved country which cuts Casamance off from northern Senegal. However, the MFDC leader is himself contested by radicals reluctant to lay down their arms and who have killed about 30 people since the beginning of the year in ambushes on roads in the province. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- To unsubscribe/subscribe or view archives of postings, go to the Gambia-L Web interface at: http://maelstrom.stjohns.edu/archives/gambia-l.html You may also send subscription requests to [log in to unmask] if you have problems accessing the web interface and remember to write your full name and e-mail address. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------