Senegal: Govt denies importing mercenaries, as Wade apologizes to EU
The Senegalese government has dismissed claims by an executive of the opposition, who is one of the Presidential aspirant, that it has imported mercenaries to attack people opposing the regime of President Abdoulaye Wade.
The anti government street protest in Senegal has ceased at least for now, but the war of words between the country’s opposition and the government appears not to be relenting.
An opposition leader Maky Sall on Thursday accused President Wade’s government of bringing foreign mercenaries into the West African country to carry out attacks against its opponents.
Sall claimed that the government has brought in mercenaries from Guinea Bissau, the Ivory Coast and Nigeria.
But in an interview with WADR, the Legal Adviser and Spokesman for President Wade, Adama Sall said there was no truth in the opposition’s allegation.
"It's not a true information...there's no mercenaries in this country," said Adama Sall.
According to him, reports claiming the government had asked the French government for security support was also untrue. "We don't need French forces or military for doing policing in Senegal. We have the police, we have security forces which can protect lives and property in this country," stressed Wade's legal adviser.
Meanwhile, President Wade on Thursday explained to a delegation of European Union diplomats in Dakar his reason for introducing a constitutional reform, which led to violent street protests a week ago.
According to the local Le Quotidien newspaper, Wade said the action was to "reinforce democracy" in Senegal, but that he withdrew it because the people rejected it. He reassured that the bill will not be reintroduced again.
President Wade told the head of the EU delegation, Mrs Dominique Dellicour, that he regretted the demonstrations over the bill had turned violent and appealed to his supporters, who had threatened retaliation, to be calm.
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