By Adama Makasuba in Casamance 

Baipal village once occupied by people on Senegal’s Casamance region is now deserted due to recent skirmishes on Gambia-Senegal border.

The villagers fled to some parts of The Gambia and others sought refuge in nearby villages in Senegal as the decade-long Casamance conflict flared up again. 

When our reporter visited the village today  it was a ghost town with no villager in sight and only the chilling cry of birds on mango and baobab trees.

The reporter was part of a media team invited to the area to interview Casamance separatist leader Salif Sadio. 

“This was once a village call Baipal, but due to the conflicts its settlers fled for their lives and settle in parts of The Gambia and Senegal,” a village guide told reporters. 

The village is now under the control of the separatist movement who are seeking to breakaway from Senegal and create an independent state in Casamance.

Last week a shootout between the rebels and Senegalese soldiers serving with ECOMIG in The Gambia led to the death of four soldiers and seven others declared missing. 

The captured soldiers were paraded to journalists today in Casamance. 

MFDC leader Salif Sadio gave a rare two hour interview with the invited journalists. 

We will bring you details of the separatist leader interview with the press in our next report.