Gambia: a foiled coup that illustrates a difficult reform of the army
Gambian soldiers parade during the inauguration ceremony of President Adama Barrow, February 18, 2017. (Illustration).
SEYLLOU / AFP
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ECOWAS has strongly condemned the coup attempt announced on Wednesday December 21 in The Gambia.
According to the government, "
some soldiers were plotting
" to overthrow President Adama Barrow, re-elected in December 2021. Since taking over as head of state in 2017, after Yahya Jammeh's 22 years in power, President Barrow has made reform security services a priority.
A difficult reform.
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With our correspondent in Dakar,
Charlotte Idrac
Four soldiers were arrested, three "accomplices" are wanted.
The situation is calm in Banjul, according to residents.
The Gambian government has released the names of seven suspected military personnel.
Navy Corporal Sanna Fadera "
is the suspected ringleader
" according to the official statement.
The other soldiers arrested are a corporal from the first infantry battalion, a corporal from the military police and a sergeant from the navy.
The shadow of Yahya Jammeh
This is not the first time that Adama Barrow has faced a coup attempt: in 2017, just after the forced departure of Yahya Jammeh, 12 soldiers were arrested for plotting against the new president.
“
There is always a mistrust between Adama Barrow and the army
”, underlines a good connoisseur of the country.
Since he came to power, the institutions have been protected by an
ECOWAS mission
, extended several times at the request of the Head of State.
It is Senegalese soldiers who secure the presidency.
And "
this generates frustration among the military and in public opinion
" continues our interlocutor.
Could this coup attempt have a link with
Yahya Jammeh, in exile in Equatorial Guinea
, and whose shadow still hovers in Gambia?
In any case, the police arrested Momodou Sabally, a former minister under Jammeh's regime, after a video emerged suggesting that Adama Barrow will be overthrown before the next local elections, scheduled for 2023. His party, the UDP , asks for his "
immediate release
".
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Gambia
Adama Barrow
Yahya Jammeh