The demolition in July of a small Gambian wall by the Senegalese army nearly triggered a diplomatic crisis between Dakar and Banjul. A joint commission is trying to settle a border that colonial powers crudely drew in 1889.
On 17 July, images of a Senegalese army bulldozer demolishing a small wall in Bulok, in south-western Gambia, sparked a political flashpoint between Dakar and Banjul.
“Senegal has, on several occasions, drawn the Gambian side’s attention to encroachments affecting its territorial integrity [resulting in] installations and activities considered incompatible with the coordinated and respectful management of the border,” Senegal’s ministry of African integration and foreign affairs said in a statement.
Banjul hit back, denouncing a “deeply provocative and unacceptable” act.
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