In Casamance, the end of American aid threatens the balance of a region with fragile peace

In Casamance, a region of southern Senegal, it is necessary to take clay, covered with bumps, and obtain a written authorization of the army to reach the very remote “Palm area”. Here, in this lush decor, kapofers, with gigantic trunks, coexist with palm trees with leaves in the shape of fans. At the heart of this valley, Sembou Mendy lives with his mother, his wife and her children in a house surrounded by agricultural land, with goats and a donkey. The family makes lemon juice that they sell on the markets and cultivates the cashewers, these trees decorated with juicy yellow apples which give birth to cashew nuts.

In this enchanting landscape, their house, made of clay soil, nevertheless carries the stigma of great violence. “The roof was struck by a shell less than two years ago,” confirms the farmer. Since then, he threatens to collapse … We have to sleep in a shelter, covered with palm leaves, and we are rebuilt another house with the help of our neighbors. Where did the shell come from? Sembou Mendy ignores it and is expressed with resignation. It has only been a year since his village is experiencing a fragile peace, after having served as a rear base for a long time for a group of armed rebels.

Since 1982, Casamance has been the scene of a conflict between the Senegalese State and the rebel factions of the Movement of Democratic Forces of Casamance, which struggles for the independence of the region. The guerrilla warfare was born out of a feeling of stigma of the population, in this territory less economically developed than northern Senegal. In forty years, she killed nearly 5,000 people and tens of thousands of displaced. Against the background of rebels fire and ambushes, Sembou Mendy and his family fled their village in the 1990s, at the height of the conflict, to exile in neighboring Gambia; Before resolving to return to the palm zone, dangerously taken in vice between the army and the rebels of the Diakaye faction.

The Mendy family started blowing on May 13, 2023. That day, more than 250 fighters from the Diakaye faction left the guerrilla warfare, after long negotiations with the Senegalese state. A historic moment, marked by a ceremony where the fighters symbolically laid their weapons on the ground. To obtain such a gesture, in the oldest conflict in West Africa, pacifist activists and the State needed a key actor: USAID. The United States Federal Agency responsible for humanitarian aid and international economic development has provided guarantees of support and social reintegration to ex-combatants.

Brutal

Its program, called Aliwili II, put more than $ 9 million on the table since 2019 to allow the social fabric to be repaired in a region traumatized by the conflict. “But the aid was brutally cut last February and there is no longer a solid program for ex-combatants,” sighs Henry Ndecky, head of the coordination of civil society organizations for peace in Casamance. The region was just starting to find the way to reconciliation! »»

The stop comes from Donald Trump. On February 26, 2025, the American president cut 92 % of the funding of the USAID, which reduced the agency to the state of ghost. For NGOs and beneficiary countries, the announcement is apocalyptic. In 2023, the agency had a budget of more than $ 42 billion, or 42 % of global humanitarian aid. “The Trump administration justified the dismantling of the USAID by arguing that it was wasting the taxpayer’s money,” deplores Dean Karlan, a former agency chief economist, who chose to resign in the face of the dead end. But the government forgets to say that tens of thousands of people have been saved thanks to American financing, through programs to combat AIDS, malnutrition or even infant mortality! »»

The main continent concerned, Africa had six countries among the first ten beneficiaries of the USAID. Countries such as Ethiopia, South Sudan or Uganda depended on the fight against malnutrition or the propagation of AIDS. More economically stable, Senegal still received around $ 150 million on average per year, for malaria control programs, HIV or the quality of school programs. Primordial support in this country where almost 40 % of the population lives below the poverty line.

Chain reaction

Especially since most of the American aid was not only devoted to health. In 2023, USAID allocated around 22 % of its budget there, while the rest was intended for peace and security, economic development, governance or education. It is for this reason that the NGO of the Catholic Relief Services benefited from subsidies from the USAID to repair the social fabric in Casamance, by working with the Senegalese Catholic Church and several civil society organizations. In six years, the funds have supported the return of the populations displaced to their villages of origin.

In Djinaky or Nyassia, hundreds of families found the land they had abandoned during the conflict. Patiently, NGOs have built roads, cleaned up vegetable plots and made drilling to capture waters, in order to recreate the conditions for a normal life for traumatized inhabitants. “The Aliwili II project was going to enter its second phase, to allow rebellious veterans to reintegrate,” continues the negotiator and pacifist activist Henry Ndecky. But Donald Trump’s decision has stopped everything and now dozens of people are unemployed in our various associations. »»

At the Maison de la Paix, which welcomes the network of pacifist organizations in Ziguinchor, chief town of Casamance, a man made a resounding entry on a red and black all-terrain motorcycle. He is the former independentist warlord Fatoma Coly. Originally from Djinaky, in the palm zone, he entered the rebellious faction of Diakaye at 14 years old and climbed the ladder until taking the command of 500 men for more than ten years. “At the start of the conflict, the villagers considered that it was an honor to defend the independence of Casamance,” explains the ex-commander to justify his commitment. But after forty years of conflict, I realized that it was necessary to finish it. On May 13, 2023, Fatoma Coly crossed a historic stage to peace, becoming the only faction leader to get rid of his Kalashnikov, followed by 250 comrades in arms.

The decision involved long negotiations with the state and reintegration guarantees for 180 fighters, such as a starting nest, training in the profession of farmer and psychological support. So many projects funded by USAID, until the process stops suddenly. With a nervous gesture, Fatoma Coly Trubat her grigri, an African lucky bracelet, covered with small shells. “Like me, many young rebels have known only life in the maquis,” he confides. If their support does not continue, they may be discouraged and return to fight. »»

Get out of external aid

Half a word, the former commander evokes clandestine life which allowed part of the rebels to live in wood and hemp traffic. How to resume a normal life, to convert into market gardening or fishing, when you have spent so many years in parallel circuits? “At the end of 2024, 91 new fighters had agreed to be identified as part of the reintegration program,” says Étienne Sagna, peace for peace in Casamance. But they cannot benefit from it. The suspension of American financing compromises our efforts. This program was also used to serve as a lever to convince other groups to disarm. »»

Faced with American disengagement, local actors hope that the State will play a more important role in promoting peace. In Senegal, the dismantling of the USAID caused a vast debate around international dependence. Prime Minister Ousmane Sonko pleaded in early February for a sovereign economy, freed from external aid. For the government, the bet is already launched: its development plan, called “Senegal 2050”, aims to better exploit the country’s national resources and to cooperate more with the Senegalese diaspora to revive the economy, without depending on foreign landlords. In the hope that Hurricane Trump is just a simple gust of wind.