ECOMIG reportedly on high alert as Jammeh's herds of cattle are being readied for confiscation

The ECOMIG forces who entered The Gambia last January to secure the peace while the ex-dictator Jammeh was being forced into involuntary exile after losing the December 2016 presidential election, is reportedly on high alert in the Kanilai area of the Foni.

The reason for the move is to prepare for the evacuation of Jammeh's herds of cattle are being readied for evacuation and confiscation, an issue that was the subject of investigation by the Commission of Inquiry into the illicit wealth of the former dictator.

Kanilai residence and those living in the general vicinity have been asked by the ECOMIG Senegalese Commander to either stay indoors or outside the area while the operation is underway.  According to a source in the area, the order has caused villagers to panic resulting in some fleeing to satellite villages.

An observer of the political scene in the Fonis also pointed out the fact that the APRC caravan led by Fabakary Tombong Jatta who were on a nation-wide tour are scheduled to pass through the Foni shortly and he is worried that this might create unnecessary and avoidable tension.

Southern Senegalese forest 

Regional security concerns have been further heightened by the fact that thirteen Senegalese youth who were out collecting wood in the Bayotte forest were killed by armed band, seven others wounder and two escaped.   The incident occured 12 miles from the regional capital of Ziquinchor located in the southern region of Senegal.

According to the Senegalese Press Agency (APS), " the attackers would have passed the buffer zone separating the positions of the Senegalese army from those of the MFDC rebels."   A Senegalese army inquiry has been launched to determine whether the MFDC rebels were responsible for the attack which is a worrying development regardless who carried out the attack.

Although the ECOMIG high alert around the Kanilai area appears unrelated, it is  nonetheless a matter for concern given the proximity of the native village of Yaya Jammeh to the Casamance border.