Senegal and Gambia resume border demarcation after Bullock clash

On 16 July 2026 Senegalese troops demolished the fence of a Gambian military post near Bullock, sparking a diplomatic dispute. The Gambia condemned the act as “provocative and unacceptable,” while Senegal cited repeated incursions onto its territory.

Two weeks later, on 29 July, the two neighbours signed a definitive agreement to clarify the border line and restart joint demarcation and densification work. The agreement calls for physical border markers to be installed where old ones have disappeared, with operations set to resume on 15 August and be completed by September. A parallel awareness campaign will target farmers whose fields encroach on the buffer zone.

The joint effort, overseen by Cherno Omar Barry, the deputy executive secretary of the Senegal‑Gambia Permanent Secretariat, had begun in June but was paused due to delays in training Gambian experts. Both governments emphasised dialogue and the long‑standing 2015 framework for border densification.