Senegal River relates the legend that both the Senegal and the Egyptian Nile were branches of the Biblical Gihon River that stems from the Garden of Eden and flows through Ethiopia. He also notes that the Senegal was called "the Niger" by the ancients - probably a reference to Ptolemy's legendary 'Nigir' (Νιγειρ) (below the Gir), which would be later identified by Leo Africanus with the modern Niger River. Much the same story is repeated by Marmol in 1573, with the additional note that both the Senegal River and Gambia River were tributaries of the Niger River. However, the contemporary African atlas
Mauritania–Senegal Border War relations between the two countries were broken on 21 August 1989. The Organisation of African Unity tried to negotiate a settlement to reopen the border, but it was ultimately an initiative of Senegalese President Abdou Diouf which led to a treaty being signed on July 18, 1991. The treaty helped result in the re-established of relations, which took place in April 1992, and the border was reopened on 2 May 1992. Mauritanian refugees slowly trickled back into the country during the following years. The armed black nationalist Mauritanian movement African Liberation Forces of Mauritania is based in northern Senegal. The