Colonel Cheikh Guèye, appointed commander of Military Zone No. 5 South three months ago, in July to be precise, will be officially installed this Friday by the Chief of Staff of the Armed Forces (CEMGA), General Mbaye Cissé. The ceremony is scheduled to take place at the Comzone level in the presence of civil and military authorities.

The new commander of military zone No. 5, according to the biography presented for his installation ceremony, served as corps commander of the 3rd Infantry Battalion from July 2017 to July 2019. He was also a group professor at the Senegalese Defense Institute from January to July 2021, then director of the Staff College of the same institute from July 2021 to July 2023.

Colonel Cheikh Guèye commanded the National School for Active Officers from 2023 to 2025, before being appointed commander of Zone No. 5 on July 1, 2025.

Mapping of Military Zone No. 5 South

Military Zone 5 is known and renowned for being at the heart of a strategic region. "Southern Command 5 is an essential link in the national defense and security system. A border zone par excellence, it concentrates both complex security challenges and stability issues for Senegal," according to the information in the action plan note provided to us. The note notes that it is in this demanding context that "Colonel Cheikh Guèye took the reins of command, with the firm desire to strengthen the cohesion of the troops and consolidate the presence of the Armed Forces on the ground."

The new Zone Commander's assumption of command comes in a constantly evolving security context, characterized by the resurgence of organized crime, instability at the borders, and the persistence of the terrorist threat. "The new command of the military zone will undoubtedly work to consolidate and strengthen the operational system in place, while intensifying civil-military actions aimed at preserving cohesion between the Army and the population," the note reads.