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Security in the West Africa in relation to travel Security in the West Africa in relation to travel
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sub-Saharan Africa Topics specific to sub-Saharan Africa. (Includes all countries South of 17 degrees latitude)
Photo by Lois Pryce, schoolkids in Algeria

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Photo of Lois Pryce, UK
and schoolkids in Algeria



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  #1  
Old 28 Jan 2018
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Casamance is pretty remote from Dakar and the rest of Senegal. Its troubles involve a separatist movement which hasn’t historically affected anyplace north of The Gambia. I’d be more concerned about street theft and standard scams in Dakar than about whatever might be happening in Casamance.

Fears about Africa are not necessarily rational in any way. To enjoy her trip, your wife will have to find a way to adjust to the fact that civil unrest might be under way one or two countries distant wherever you actually are at any given time. I’d say the same thing about traveling in, say, the USA.

Hope that’s helpful.

Mark
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  #2  
Old 1 Feb 2018
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I went through Dioloulou to the Seleti border post last Saturday, taking my wife to Banjul Airport. We even made a detour looking for tall growth forest around Dioloulo (without finding much) along the Gambian border.
We hadn't heard of any attack nor was their any talk about it locally. The news wasn't out.
As it was, two of my travelling partners went through Dioloulou the same way on that Thursday when the attack happened, around noon, without any problems.
Very unusual with this incident happening in daylight.
I've been to many corners of the Casamance this trip, and there are gendarme posts telling you where you can't go because of insecurity, land mines etc. We were even interrrogated after trying to get near the Bissau border south of Oukout.
But otherwise all of Casamance was very laidback and no feeling insecure in Cap Skirring, Ziguinchor or lovely Abéné.
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  #3  
Old 3 Dec 2018
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I was chatting to a US military person based in Senegal, and they said the following about Casamance that I'd like to share.

South of The Gambia it is usually fine, but we’ve noted some security incidents, mainly banditry along the roads. If you head off of the main roads, beware of abandoned villages, it could mean that there are anti-personnel mines in the area which they have not yet removed.

I travelled from Soma (The Gambia) to Sedhiou town to Marsassoum then Ziguinchor in December 2018 without problem.
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  #4  
Old 4 Dec 2018
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The incident in January was probably a hoax, from what we could find out from media and from talking to locals.
Robberies in villages in plain daylight is not common in WA. Where it was supposed to have happened, in Dioloulou, there is a military checkpoint, and as I said, we were there the day after and nobody had heard about it. If three women had actually been raped, everybody would have known.
So what it was about is anybody's guess. Insurance fraud?

What you say about landmines, there is such a military presence in Casamance that they would never let you get anywhere near abandoned villages or minefields.

The other incident where 14 young locals were killed was one of those tribal feuds over money or property or bad magic that would have nothing to do with tourists.

But obviously people reading the news become so scared that they may never set foot in Africa!
The only way to get to know Africa is by going there - what you get from media does not give you even a remote idea of how it really is.
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