Senegal cuts diplomatic ties with Iran

Senegal has cut diplomatic ties with Iran over the discovery of an Iranian arms cache in Nigeria in October, believed to be destined for Casamance separatist rebels, the foreign ministry said on Wednesday. "Senegal has decided to break off diplomatic relations with the Republic of Iran," the foreign ministry said in a statement. "The report presented to the president of the Republic (Abdoulaye Wade) by the army chief of staff on recent developments in Casamance has shown that the Casamance Movement of Democratic Forces (MFDC) was using sophisticated weapons which caused the death of Senegalese soldiers." "Senegal is outraged to see that Iranian bullets caused the death of Senegalese soldiers," the statement added. In November 2010, Nigeria reported to the UN Security Council its find of 13 containers of weapons, including rockets and grenades, shipped from Iran, and disguised as building material. The cargo was reportedly destined for Gambia, a sliver of a country wedged into Senegal, separating it from the southern Casamance which has been plagued by a rebellion by the MFDC since 1982. The separatist rebels are known to have bases in Gambia, which cut diplomatic ties with Iran soon after the incident. Earlier this month, Iran's ambassador in Abuja, Hussein Abdullahi said the consignment was "based on the agreement signed between Iran and Gambia three years back and this is not the first part of that consignment. This is the third part." As for why Gambia severed ties with Iran, Abdullahi said the country was upset that Tehran had disclosed a confidential agreement to Nigeria. Iran is under four sets of UN sanctions over its disputed nuclear programme, including a ban on arms sales.