Gambia and Senegal are once again seeking to mend fractured relations after a cargo of weapons intercepted in Nigeria last October sparked suspicion in Senegal.
Documents related to the weapons seizure points to Gambia as the destination. Worried about the prospects of the weapons ending in the hands of its southern rebels, Senegal unsuccessfully sought explanation from Iran, while, at the same time, launching a formal complaint with the UN Security Council.
In the view of Gambian president Yahya Jammeh, Senegal’s move to report it to the UN amounts to hate and jealousy. In a statement released mid December, President Yahya Jammeh, through his Secretary General and Head of Civil Service, accused Senegalese President Abdoulaye Wade of hatred, among other serious allegations, directed against Gambia.
And now, in an attempt to mend ties caused by that war of words, Gambia’s Foreign Minister commenced a two-day working visit to Dakar on Monday, during which he had discussions with President Wade, whom he handed a message from his Gambian counterpart Yahya Jammeh.
The Gambian envoy, Dr Mamadou Tangara, who also met the Senegalese Prime Minister, stressed that Gambia is not the ultimate destination for the weapons.
Senegal has always said it was not accusing Gambia of involvement in the weapons saga, that it was only seeking convincing explanation from the Iranians.
At Tuesday’s press conference marking the conclusion of the visit by the Gambian side, Senegal’s Foreign Minister Madicke Niang reiterated this stance. "We have not asked Gambia for any explanation. No explanation was required from this brotherly country, no mission was dispatched, and our ambassador was not called for consultation, because we consider that we just need to get at the Iranians, to tell us the actual destination of the weapons,'' he said. "You can be certain that there exists a perfect harmony between the two countries. There is no cloud over our relationship which is going very well," he added.
For his Gambian counterpart, ''Gambia and Senegal are one nation with two states.'' Dr Mamadou Tangara blamed “Saboteurs” for peddling “false information” designed to create confusion between the two neighbors. He however stressed that with constant consultation the two sides should be able to overcome such problems.
''If we find that there is an outside agent that wants to undermine that confidence, it behooves us to ensure it is cleared,'' he said.

Casamance conflict
Senegal, which has expressed serious concerns about regional peace, fears that the intercepted arms might be destined for rebels fighting in its Southern region of Casamance. Angered by Iran’s failure to give reasonable explanation, the Senegalese followed Gambia in halting ties with the Islamic Republic. But unlike Senegal, Gambia, up until now, has never given any reason for its sudden severing of ties with Iran.
The Gambian Foreing Minister said the Gambian border had been secured to curtail the movement of the rebels.

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