DAKAR, March 29 (Xinhua) -- A dispute broke out in Senegal between Prime Minister Souleymane Ndene Ndiaye and a close associate of President Abdoulaye Wade on peace negotiations with the rebel Movement of Democratic Forces in Casamance (MFDC), local press reported on Sunday.

On a political tour in the interior of the country, the Senegalese prime minister reacted to a statement published on Thursday by a MFDC leader Cesar Atoute Badiate asking for "sincere and all inclusive negotiations" with the government.

"The wish of all of us is that peace should reign in Senegal, Casamance included, and we shall pay whatever price to get the peace. We are ready to receive the leaders of MFDC to start negotiations," the prime minister.

The premier also denied Farba Senghor, who claimed himself "chief negotiator" with the rebel movement, as in an official position for saying negotiations were already underway.

"Senghor is not a government minister. You cannot talk on behalf of the government unless you have an official position. Senghor does not have any official position and he cannot therefore speak on behalf of the government or engage with the government," Ndiaye said.

Badiane, in an interview with the Radio France International, had denied the affirmations of Senghor by insisting that he had not had any contacts with him.

After a lull following the December 2004 peace accords between the government and the MFDC, fighting resumed in 2009 in the southern parts of Senegal killing at least 15 soldiers.