Buya Jammeh, AfricaNews reporter in Dakar, Senegal
Public opinion in Senegal points to an increasingly bitter feeling towards what some describe as outlaws in the Senegalese southern region of Casamance. Concerns are looming over the abduction of eight Senegalese soldiers by the Casamance Movement of Democratic Forces (MFDC) for eight months now.

The unresolved predicament has sparked wide spread concern among Senegalese over the wellbeing of the victims in question in recent months.
Some Senegalese who expressed their disgust over the conflict in Casamance stressed that the only alternative is the use of force to thrash the conflict and bring lasting peace in the region.
“Though Senegal is faced with so many daunting challenges but the Casamance should be a priority for the authorities,” a concern Senegalese emphasized.
Salif Sadio, a self proclaim leader of the MFDC separatist said the movement would accept a genuine mediation to be held out of the continent.” I ordered my comrades to contact victims’ relatives and proposed to them to come and visit them in order to let them know that their love ones are in safe hands, but due to fear they turndown our offer,” Sadio Sen TV reported.
In response to the call by the rebel, the Senegalese President Macky Sall said he is ready for talks with separatist rebels in the country's restive southern Casamance province.
"We are ready to open talks with the fighters and actors involved in the peace process, religious leaders and men and women of good will," Sall told journalists in Ziguinchor, the capital of the Casamance region. He further stressed that “I will never accept independence for Casamance.”