Armed Forces of Senegal
The Armed Forces of Senegal consists of about 17,000 personnel in the army, air force, navy, and gendarmerie. The Senegal military force receives most of its training, equipment, and support from France and the United States. Germany also provides support but on a smaller scale.
Military noninterference in political affairs has contributed to Senegal's stability since independence. Senegal has participated in many international and regional peacekeeping missions. Most recently, in 2000, Senegal sent a battalion to the Democratic Republic of Congo to participate in MONUC, the United Nations peacekeeping mission.
Senegal also agreed to deploy a United States-trained battalion to Sierra Leone to participate in UNAMSIL, another UN peacekeeping mission. The training operation was designated Operation Focus Relief and involved U.S. Army Special Forces from 3rd Special Forces Group training a number of West African battalions, including Nigerian ones.
As one of the largest troop contributors in Africa to African Union missions, United Nations missions, and other regional security organizations, the Senegalese military has proven itself to be one of the most effective and reliable militaries on the African continent. This is remarkable given that Senegal is poorer than the average Sub-Saharan African country. Most importantly, the army of Senegal is multi-ethnic, not coup-proofed, and has never attempted a coup d'état, which is a rarity in Africa. Harmonious Senegalese civil-military relations since Independence have permitted the creation of an effective 'military enclave' that is a capable institution that is not a threat to the political leadership in Dakar.
Lists of Chiefs of Defense Staff Senegal
- General AMADOU FALL Chief of Staff of the Senegalese Armed Forces
- Colonel Soumaré Chief of Staff of the Federation of Mali
- Colonel Idrissa Fall
- Major General Jean Alfred Diallo
- General Idrissa Fall
- General Joseph Louis Tavarez de Souza
- General of Air Corps Mamadou Mansour Seck
- General Mouhamadou Lamine Keita
- General of the army Lamine Cissé
- Major General Mamadou Seck
- Lieutenant General Babacar Gaye
- Lieutenant General Papa Khalilou Fall
- Lieutenant General Abdoulaye Fall
- General Mamadou Sow
- Major General Cheikh Gueye
- General of Air Corps Birame Diop (01/01/20-
Summary of past military actions
- In October 1980 and August 1981, the Senegalese military was invited into the Gambia by President Dawda Kairaba Jawara to put down a coup attempt.
- In August 1989, Senegalese-Gambian military cooperation ceased with the dissolution of the Senegambian Confederation.
- In 1990, 500 Senegalese troops were deployed to Saudi Arabia to take part in the Gulf War. 92 of them were killed after the end of the conflict in a plane crash on 21 March 1991.
- In 1992 1,500 men were sent to the ECOMOG peacekeeping group in Liberia.
- In 1994, a battalion-sized force was sent to Rwanda to participate in the UN peacekeeping mission there.
- Senegal intervened in the Guinea-Bissau civil war in 1998 at the request of former President Vieira.
- A Senegalese contingent deployed on a peacekeeping mission to the Central African Republic in 1997.
- In 2017, Senegal deployed troops into the Gambia to support newly elected President Adama Barrow, an action legally justified by UN resolution 2337.
Army
Since independence the army has gone through a large number of reorganisations. The army's heritage includes the Tirailleurs sénégalais. In 1978, Senegal dispatched a battalion to the Inter-African Force in Zaire, in the aftermath of the Shaba II fighting. The Senegalese contingent was under the command of Colonel Osmane Ndoye. The Senegalese force comprised a parachute battalion from Thiaroye.The Army currently consists of two divisions, the Operations Division and the Logistic Division. The IISS estimated in 2012 that the Army had a strength of 11,900 soldiers, three armoured battalions the 22nd, 24th, and 25th and the 26th Bataillon de reconnaissance et d'Appui at Kolda; there are six infantry battalions numbered 1st to 6th. 3rd Battalion may have been at Kaolack with 4th at Tambacounda at one point.
Also reported is the 12th Battalion of the 2nd Military Zone at Saint Louis, along with the :fr:Prytanée militaire de Saint-Louis|Prytanée militaire de Saint-Louis, a military secondary school.
Although the Senegalese Air Force is geared towards supporting it, the army may have previously maintained its own very small aviation branch, called the "Aviation Légère de l'Armée de Terre", which may have counted up to five light helicopters and two SA330 Puma transport helicopters. The IISS Military Balance 2012 does not list any helicopters in army service.
National Gendarmerie
The Gendarmerie is a military force which provides policing and security. It includes a Territorial Gendarmerie with general policing duties, and a Mobile Gendarmerie for special tasks and serious public disorder.The Senegalese gendarmerie evolved out of a French colonial Spahi detachment sent to Senegal in 1845. This detachment was the cadre around which the "Colonial Gendarmerie" was formed. On independence this became the National Gendarmerie.
The commander is General Abdoulaye Fall, whose rank is Divisional General, and whose full job title is "High Commander of the Gendarmerie and Director of Military Justice".
Navy
The navy, also known as the Armée de mer, is of small size and is commanded by a ship-of-the-line captain. It is responsible for securing Senegal's Atlantic coastline which is strategically located on the extreme west of the African continent. The coastline is divided in two by The Gambia. The navy was created in 1975. The Navy operates two bases, one at Dakar and the other at Elinkine. The navy also patrols the territorial waters as well as a declared exclusive economic zone.The Navy is divided into three branches known as "groupings":
- The Operational Naval Grouping, which is divided into three flotillas and one group:
- * The High Seas Patrol Boats,
- * The Coastal Surveillance Vessels,
- * The Fast Coastal Boats and
- * The Transport Group.
- The Naval Support Grouping responsible for ports, repairs, training, and logistics.
- The Fluvial-Maritime Surveillance Grouping.
Air Force
Military zones
At the present time, there are seven military zones:- Zone n°1 - Dakar
- Zone n°2 - Saint-Louis
- Zone n°3 - Kaolack
- Zone n°4 - Ziguinchor
- Zone n°5 - Tambacounda
- Zone n°6 - Kolda
- Zone n°7 - Thiès
The IISS Military Balance listed four zones in 2007.
Equipment
Armored cars
- 30 Panhard AML- 60mm 4x4
- 74 Panhard AML- 90mm 4x4
- 13 WMA301/PTL02 105 mm tank hunter
- 50 RAM MK3
- 10 M8 Greyhound 37mm 6x6
- 4 M20 Greyhound 6x6
Armoured personnel carriers
- 8 Casspir 4x4
- 24 Panhard M3 4x4
- 12 M3 Half-track
- 6 Dozor-B
- 39 PUMA M26-15
- Ford M151 Jeep 4x4
- Reo M-35 6x6 trucks
- Reo M-44 6x6 trucks
- ACMAT trucks
- M-809 6x6 trucks
Artillery
- 6 M-50 155mm Howitzer
- 8 TRF1 155mm Howitzer
- 6 M-101 105mm Howitzer
- 6 KrAZ-6322PA Bastion-01 122mm multiple rocket launcher
- 8 Brandt 81mm medium mortar
- 8 Brandt 120mm heavy mortar
Air defence weapons:
- 21 53-T-2/M-693 20mm AAGs
- 12 Bofors L-60 40mm AAGs