THE government of Senegal and armed separatists in the southern Casamance region agreed on “an immediate halt to fighting” at peace talks on Sunday in the Gambian capital. The Casamance Movement of Democratic Forces (MFDC), has been battling Senegalese government troops for the past 17 years. The agreement has been signed by Senegalese Interior Minister Lamine Cisse and the MFDC leader, Father Augustin Diamacoune. The two sides agreed to abide by a ceasefire signed in the main southern town of Ziguinchor on July 8, 1993, but which had failed to halt the fighting.