Tensions remain high in Soussoung, where the population continues to fiercely oppose the basalt quarry project being carried out by the Transfavo company, headed by Arona Ba. Meeting this Sunday, the Collective for the Defense of Soussoung Lands denounced the arbitrary arrests, repression, and destruction of peasant fields, while demanding the immediate release of the villagers still detained.

Since the gendarmerie's intervention on July 24, 24 farmers have been arrested, including seven placed under investigation. Further arrests followed on August 20 and 21, reinforcing a climate of fear and intimidation. "All the village's young people have fled. The gendarmerie is now hunting them down even in the towns," complains the village imam, Ngor Sène.

At the same time, construction equipment ravaged seedbeds, depriving families of their only source of livelihood. "We are peasants, farmers. We will never accept this career," he insists. The population claims to have never refused to dialogue. A meeting with an emissary of the President of the Republic even raised hopes of appeasement. But this hope was quickly dashed by a delegation from the Ministry of Mines. "No dialogue is possible while our children are behind bars," the imam declares.

The Collective is directly appealing to the Head of State, Bassirou Diomaye Diakhar Faye. "We solemnly appeal to His Excellency President Bassirou Diomaye Diakhar Faye. Mr. President, you are intimately familiar with the realities of rural life and have always championed the cause of the oppressed. It is unthinkable that, under your authority, a village should be subjected to violence, intimidation, and the complicit silence of local authorities. The silence of the town hall, despite its primary responsibility, is revolting. While some of its representatives claim that compensation has been paid to the dispossessed farmers, the main parties concerned claim to have received nothing. The collective demands clear answers: where has the money gone? Who has been compensated? And why is the list of beneficiaries not made public?" says the president of the Collective.

The Collective demands the immediate release of the nine farmers still detained; the opening of an independent investigation into the abuses committed; the suspension of the quarry project and the establishment of a genuine framework for consultation.