Gambian authorities have revealed for the first time details of the attempted coup d’état of last December 20 during a press conference in Banjul.
The head of Gambia’s National Security, Abubakarr Suleiman Jeng, told the media that last week’s foiled attack was aimed at «arresting high-ranking government officials and using them as hostages to prevent any foreign intervention», as reported by RFI radio station.
In addition, the Executive stated that the alleged coup plotters intended to remove from office «all senior army officers of the rank of commander or above, as well as to restructure the Gambian Armed Forces».
It seems that the Gambian Government has discovered the composition of the group involved in the coup d’état as well as its strategy to seize power, as they would have held clandestine meetings in identified locations in the interior of the country, as reported by the aforementioned media.
To date, a total of seven soldiers and the politician Momodou Sabally, former Minister of Presidential Affairs under the regime of the dictator Yahya Jamé, have been arrested.
FAILED COUP OF STATE The Gambian authorities announced last week the arrest of four soldiers who were planning a coup d’état to overthrow the president, Adama Barrow, while stressing the existence of several police operations to arrest three other suspects.
Gambian government spokesman Ebrima Sankareh announced in a statement that «according to intelligence reports, some Gambian Army soldiers were planning to overthrow the democratically elected government of President Adama Barrow».
The chairman of the African Union Commission, Moussa Faki Mahamat, condemned in «strong terms» the foiled coup d’état as well as «any attempt at unconstitutional change of government in The Gambia or any other member state,» he shared in a statement.
Barrow was sworn into office in January 2017 for a second term after the Supreme Court rejected in late December the appeal filed by the main opposition candidate against the official results of the December 4, 2021 election.
The president won re-election despite the fact that this meant breaking his promise of only three years in office — which came to an end in 2020 — after reaching a controversial alliance with the party of former dictator Yahya Jamé and after some allies left his side to run against him.
Source: (EUROPA PRESS)
