Bakel, Senegal | |
|---|---|
Town and commune | |
  Bakel | |
| Coordinates: 14°54′15″N 12°27′30″W / 14.90417°N 12.45833°W | |
| Country |  Senegal |
| Region | Tambacounda |
| Department | Bakel |
| Area | |
| • Town and commune | 5.858 km2 (2.262 sq mi) |
| Elevation | 23 m (75 ft) |
| Population (2023 census)[1] | |
| • Town and commune | 18,939 |
| • Density | 3,200/km2 (8,400/sq mi) |
| Time zone | UTC+0 (GMT) |
Bakel is a town and urban commune, with a population of 18,939, located in the eastern part of Senegal, West Africa. The town is located on the left bank of the Sénégal River, 65 kilometers (40 mi) from the Malian border and linked by canoe ferry to the village of Gouraye in Mauritania.
Bakel is one of the four eponymous departmental capitals in the region of Tambacounda, the other three being Tambacounda, Goudiry and Koumpentoum. Bakel is known for its French fort (Fort Bakel), which René Caillié visited in 1819.[3] It was also the area where the Mauritanian crisis occurred, a dispute over grazing rights that led to a war between Senegal and Mauritania in 1989.[citation needed] As a result of this conflict, many people around the area moved abroad or emigrated to Senegal.[citation needed]
- ^ a b Citypopulation.de Population and area of Bakel Commune
- ^ Ba, Abdourahmane. “Chapitre 1, Le Takrur Historique Et l'Héritage Du Fuuta Tooro.” In Histoire et politique dans la vallée du fleuve Sénégal: Mauritanie. Hiérarchies, échanges, colonisation et violences politiques, VIIIe-XXIe siècle, M. Villasante et R. Taylor, éds. (2017): 95–161. Print.
- ^ Caillié, René (1830), Travels through Central Africa to Timbuctoo; and across the Great Desert, to Morocco, performed in the years 1824-1828 (Vol 1), London: Colburn & Bentley, p. 18.