Senegal: No quick end in sight to Casamance rebellion

The road between Ziguinchor, capital of Senegal's lush southern region of Casamance, and Cap Skirring, a once booming beach resort, is only 70 kms long. But the journey takes three hours because of military roadblocks and killer pot-holes caused by two decades of strife-related neglect. The Casamance, wedged between Guinea-Bissau to the south and Gambia to the north, was once Senegal's bread basket and a tropical haven for European tourists. But for 22 years it has been the scene of an on-off separatist conflict that has displaced 50,000 people and left hundreds injured by land-mines.