On Saturday 23 September 2023, more than 500 people took part in the seventh cross-border crisis simulation exercise under field conditions with mass displacement of population in the Matam region in north-eastern Senegal, which straddles the border with Mauritania. This crisis simulation was conducted by the International Organisation for Migration (IOM) in collaboration with the Senegalese Government through its ministries and dedicated departments.

“We simulated a mass displacement of people fleeing violence in their own countries to join Senegal. This is a way of testing how the defence and security forces would respond in the event of a crisis of this kind, and how the community would be featured,” explained Aboubakry Wellé, IOM Senior Project Assistant.

As with previous exercises, this one also helped to prepare resident communities, administrative authorities, defence and security forces, health and emergency services to respond to potential crises at borders. It also enabled an assessment and strengthening of the contingency plan, existing capacities, coordination mechanisms and information sharing between the various services involved in crisis management.

Different scenarios were put in place, including people arriving at the Soubalo fishing wharf, armed attacks by infiltrators, hostage taking, shipwreck, and a public uprising. All these simultaneous scenarios put the crisis unit, led by the

Deputy Governor of the Matam Region, Modou Thiam, to the test, as he explained: “In view of everything that happened, we are satisfied, and we thank our partner IOM. If we have achieved such a result, it is thanks to the coordination work carried out by the crisis unit at the governance level.”

This latest crisis simulation was an opportunity for the heads of administrative districts working in a crisis unit to put into practice the valuable lessons learned from trainers at the Senior Public Administration School (École d’Administration publique -ENA) during a workshop organised by IOM last September.

This crisis simulation exercise is part of the project “Border community engagement in border management and security: from Senegal to Benin” (Engagement des communautés frontalières dans la gestion et la sécurisation des frontières : du Sénégal au Bénin), funded by the United States Government and implemented by the International Organisation for Migration (IOM) in Senegal and Benin.

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For more information, please contact:

ROSWELL Lea, Project Officer (IBG) lroswell@iom.int

WELE Aboubakry, Senior Project Assistant awele@iom.int