Separatist rebels hand over Senegalese soldiers captured in The Gambia

A group of seven recently captured Senegalese soldiers have been released by separatist rebels from Senegal's Casamance region.

The soldiers were captured in The Gambia on January 24th after a clash with separatist rebels that resulted in four dead among the Senegalese forces.

The remaining seven soldiers were captured and handed over this Monday to government and ECOWAS representatives in The Gambia.

According to Senegal's military, the incident occurred during an operation to combat illegal logging on the border with The Gambia.

The Movement of Democratic Forces of Casamance, 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.