Mpack is a village in Niaguiss Arrondissement, Ziguinchor Department

Ziguinchor Department

Ziguinchor Department is one of the departments of Senegal, located in the Ziguinchor Region.- Subdivisions :The department is divided administratively into two arrondissements, Niaguis Arrondissement and Nyassia Arrondissement which are in turn split into rural communities and then...

, Ziguinchor Region

Ziguinchor Region

Ziguinchor is a region of Senegal . The region is also referred to historically and popularly as Basse Casamance.-Departments:Ziguinchor region is divided into 3 departments:*Bignona...

 in southern Senegal

Senegal

Senegal , officially the Republic of Senegal , is a country in western Africa. It owes its name to the Sénégal River that borders it to the east and north...

. Government statistics classified it as a rural community and recorded its population as 518 people in 72 households. It is located about seven kilometres from the regional capital of Ziguinchor

Ziguinchor

Ziguinchor is the capital of the Ziguinchor Region, and the chief town of the Casamance area of Senegal, lying at the mouth of the Casamance River. It has a population of over 230,000...

. It is one of the endpoints of the 90-km long Oussouye-Kabrousse

Kabrousse

Kabrousse is a village in the rural community of Diembéring, Oussouye, Ziguinchor, Casamance, Senegal.It is a coastal village located a few kilometers south of Cap Skirring...

-Cap Skirring

Cap Skirring

Cap Skirring, also spelled Cap Skiring, is a town on the Atlantic Ocean coast of the Basse Casamance region of Senegal. It is a popular seaside resort with Europeans and has an airport and a golf course. The town was first occupied by fishermen. It was discovered by the French of Ziguinchor as a...

-Ziguinchor-Mpack road, which is being rebuilt with 17 billion CFA francs

West African CFA franc

The West African CFA franc is the currency of eight independent states in West Africa: Benin, Burkina Faso, Côte d'Ivoire, Guinea-Bissau, Mali, Niger, Sénégal and Togo. The acronym CFA stands for Communauté financière d'Afrique...

 of funding from the European Union

European Union

The European Union is an economic and political union of 27 independent member states which are located primarily in Europe. The EU traces its origins from the European Coal and Steel Community and the European Economic Community , formed by six countries in 1958...

. The village used to be on the front lines of the Casamance Conflict

Casamance Conflict

The Casamance Conflict is a low-level civil war that has been waged between the Government of Senegal and the Movement of Democratic Forces of Casamance since 1982 over the question of independence for the Casamance region....

 conflict between the Senegalese government and the Movement of Democratic Forces of Casamance

Movement of Democratic Forces of Casamance

The Movement of Democratic Forces of Casamance is the main separatist movement in the Casamance region of Senegal, founded in 1982. It was supported by Guinea-Bissau President João Bernardo Vieira until he was overthrown in 1999. It relies mainly on the Diola ethnic group...

.

The town contains the only border checkpoint

Border checkpoint

A border checkpoint is a place, generally between two countries, where travellers and/or goods are inspected. Authorization often is required to enter a country through its borders. Access-controlled borders often have a limited number of checkpoints where they can be crossed without legal...

 between Senegal and Guinea-Bissau

Guinea-Bissau

The Republic of Guinea-Bissau is a country in West Africa. It is bordered by Senegal to the north, and Guinea to the south and east, with the Atlantic Ocean to its west....

 with an asphalt

Asphalt

Asphalt or , also known as bitumen, is a sticky, black and highly viscous liquid or semi-solid that is present in most crude petroleums and in some natural deposits, it is a substance classed as a pitch...

 road; its counterpart on the Guinea-Bissua side is Sao Domingos. During the 1998 Guinea-Bissau Civil War

Guinea-Bissau Civil War

The Guinea-Bissau Civil War was triggered by an attempted coup d'état against the government of President João Bernardo Vieira led by Brigadier-General Ansumane Mané in June 1998...

, up to 100 refugees an hour passed through the checkpoint and the village as they fled the fighting. Later, as the Casamance Conflict intensified, the checkpoint was frequently closed, as MDFC members were believed to be taking refuge in Guinea-Bissau. The area was also heavily mined

Land mine

A land mine is usually a weight-triggered explosive device which is intended to damage a target—either human or inanimate—by means of a blast and/or fragment impact....

 during the fighting; local NGOs made efforts to clear the mines in 2002 and 2003, rehabilitating over 100 houses in the village and its surrounding area, following which the Senegalese military

Military of Senegal

The Senegalese armed forces consist of about 19,000 well-trained and disciplined personnel in the army, air force, navy, and gendarmerie. The Senegalese military force receives most of its training, equipment, and support from France and the United States...

 declared the area safe; however, casualties due to exploding mines continued to occur in 2004. A camp was set up in the Bourgadié neighbourhood there in March 2006 to receive Senegalese refugee

Refugee

A refugee is a person who outside her country of origin or habitual residence because she has suffered persecution on account of race, religion, nationality, political opinion, or because she is a member of a persecuted 'social group'. Such a person may be referred to as an 'asylum seeker' until...

s fleeing Guinea-Bissau after the October 2004 army mutiny left the country in disarray.