Koussanar is a town in central
Senegal
Senegal, officially the Republic of Senegal, is the westernmost country in West Africa, situated on the Atlantic Ocean coastline. It borders Mauritania to Mauritania–Senegal border, the north, Mali to Mali–Senegal border, the east, Guinea t ...
in
Tambacounda Department, center of an
arrondissement
An arrondissement (, , ) is any of various administrative divisions of France, Belgium, Haiti, and certain other Francophone countries, as well as the Netherlands.
Europe
France
The 101 French departments are divided into 342 ''arrondissem ...
.
Koussanar was the center of a small pre-colonial state ruled by the Sane family, a sub-branch of the
Kaabu
Kaabu (1537–1867), also written Gabu, Ngabou, and N'Gabu, was a federation of Mandinka kingdoms in the Senegambia region centered within modern northeastern Guinea-Bissau, large parts of today's Gambia, and extending into Koussanar, Kou ...
ruling dynasty. From at least the 16th century they were historical rivals of the Wali dynasty of
Wuli until colonization in the 20th century when they were forced to accept Wali suzerainty.
[
]
Transport
Koussanar lies on the N1 highway linking
Dakar
Dakar ( ; ; ) is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Senegal, largest city of Senegal. The Departments of Senegal, department of Dakar has a population of 1,278,469, and the population of the Dakar metropolitan area was at 4.0 mill ...
to the
Mali
Mali, officially the Republic of Mali, is a landlocked country in West Africa. It is the List of African countries by area, eighth-largest country in Africa, with an area of over . The country is bordered to the north by Algeria, to the east b ...
border at
Kidira
Kidira is a town and urban commune in Tambacounda Region of eastern Senegal, lying near the Malian border. Its population in 2023 was 13,551.
Transport
It is an important transport hub and lies on the N1 and N2 roads, the Dakar – Bamako ...
, and is served by a station on the
Dakar-Niger Railway, which as of 2023 no longer operates.
See also
*
Railway stations in Senegal
References
Populated places in Senegal
{{Senegal-geo-stub