Senegal army repulses rebels

President Wade has made peace in Casamance a priorirty

Three Senegalese soldiers and around 15 separatist rebels have been killed during an armed rebel attack on a military post on the border with Guinea-Bissau, according to the Senegalese army.

The incident took place in the Casamance region, where the Casamance Movement of Democratic Forces has been fighting for independence from the central government for nearly 20 years.

A statement from the Senegalese military said that the military border post of Sare Wali was attacked early on Tuesday.

It said "the aggressors" were pushed back over the border into Guinea-Bissau.

There was no immediate comment from the rebels, and the military's claims could not be independently verified.

Peace priority

President Abdoulaye Wade has made peace in Casamance a priority of his new government, and rebel leader Reverend Diamacoune Senghor has said the election of a new president could lead to a breakthrough in the conflict.

Mr Wade's election last month ended the 40-year rule of the Socialist Party, which had governed since independence from France in 1960.

More than 1,200 people have been killed since the Casamance rebellion began in the early 1980s.

A ceasefire was agreed in December 1999 but rebels tried to disrupt the presidential elections and violence has continued since.

The rebels, who reportedly receive military aid from Guinea-Bissau, claim Casamance was never colonised by the French as part of Senegal and so should remain independent - a claim disputed by France.