Four arrested as Gambia foil coup attempt

The government in Gambia on Wednesday, December 21, announced that it has foiled an attempted military coup.

The failed coup against the administration of President Adama Barrow, is the first against his government since he defeated long-time ruler Yahya Jammeh.

The Gambian Armed Forces High Command arrested four soldiers linked to the alleged coup after a military operation. Three other people are being sought for their alleged involvement in the plot.

The statement read;

“The Gambia government announces that based on intelligence reports that some soldiers of the Gambian army were plotting to overthrow the democratically elected Government of President Adama Barrow, the GAF High Command in a swift military operation conducted yesterday, arrested four soldiers linked to this alleged coup plot.”

Coup attempts are not uncommon in the Gambia, a West African country of 2.5 million almost entirely surrounded by Senegal, which is still reeling from over two decades under former president Yahya Jammeh marked by authoritarianism and alleged abuses.

Jammeh himself seized power in a coup in 1994 and foiled several attempts to overthrow him before he lost an election in late 2016 to Barrow.