An online petition, signed by thousands of people, has called for the restoration of the maritime service between Dakar and Ziguinchor, the capital of Casamance, in southern Senegal.
Political tensions surrounding opposition leader Ousmane Sonko have resulted in the service’s suspension for more than four months.
As of Monday, October 23, 2023, the petition, which was started on October 13 by Xavier Diatta, the owner of a Ziguinchor-based agro-food company, had amassed over 3,796 signatures.
Three vessels were used to transport passengers and freight, but since June, Senegalese authorities have suspended operations without giving a formal explanation.
After the political opposition leader Sonko was found guilty in a case involving morality, there was violent unrest in Ziguinchor and other cities across the nation, leading to the suspension.
Since then, there has been a void at the Ziguinchor port. The entire local economy has come to a standstill, and transportation costs by road have tripled. Prices of goods coming from Dakar have also increased, according to Diatta.
Casamance is well-known for its fisheries, fruits, and vegetables, which are transported to Dakar by road or air several times per week.
Senegalese authorities temporarily suspended public bus services to the region following the June disturbances. Many people who want to visit this area, which has been the site of an armed separatist rebellion since 1982 and is separated from the rest of the country by The Gambia, are unable to do so due to the inaccessibility of air travel.
Sonko, the mayor of Ziguinchor and an opposition figure, has been detained on various charges, including incitement to rebellion, since late July. He announced on Tuesday that he would resume his hunger strike, which he had ended in early September, in ‘solidarity’ with his ‘unjustly arrested’ supporters.
President Sall, who was elected in 2012 and re-elected in 2019, announced his intention to run for re-election in early July.
