At least six soldiers were ambushed and killed in Senegal in a flareup of suspected separatist violence in the Casamance region, Reuters reported. The attack took place late on Friday in the Niagha district close to the West African country's border with Guinea-Bissau, the Sud newspaper reported on its website. It came a day after gunmen killed one person and wounded three in an attack on a taxi in Casamance, which has become a tourist hotspot despite continuing unrest. Army officials could not be reached to confirm the attack in the region where the Movement of Democratic Forces of Casamance (MFDC) for decades has waged a low-level insurgency. Suspected MFDC guerrillas killed a soldier in an attack last month on an army outpost near the regional capital Ziguinchor. Two people died in an attack on a bus in August. The rebels accuse the government of neglecting Casamance. Numerous deals have failed to secure lasting peace for the region, which is also an important grain producer. Analysts worry that tensions in neighbouring Guinea -- where authorities killed scores of anti-government protesters in a security crackdown on Monday -- could unsettle neighbouring countries such as Senegal, Liberia and Sierra Leone. -- SPA
