Charges filed against 8 Gambian military personnel for failed coup
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The charges involve two counts of "high treason and criminal conspiracy to commit high treason" following the failed attempt to overthrow Barrow.
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Gambian military troops. (Sputnik)
Eight Gambian military personnel were charged on Saturday, by local authorities, in connection to a failed coup attempt to oust President Adama Barrow this past December, according to the government spokesperson, Ebrima G. Sankareh.
Sankareh stated that the charges involved two counts of "high treason and criminal conspiracy to commit high treason" in connection with the failed coup attempt against Barrow. According to a statement issued by the Gambian Ministry of Communications and Digital Economy, one serviceman, Warrant Officer Class Two Lamin Jadama, has not yet been detained, while four others are.
“The Gambia Government declares (Jadama) a fugitive from justice and urges citizens and security agencies both within and outside the jurisdiction to report him to the nearest police or security post”,
According to Gambian authorities, the four servicemen from the armed forces were detained after they planned to overthrow the government and stage a military takeover.
The African region has been subject to political turmoil and chaos this past year, especially dealing with coups, and many nations are still reeling from coups that took place the year before.
Thousands of Sudanese demonstrated in November in Khartoum against the coup that took place last year. The demonstration is the latest since the Commander of the Sudanese Army, Abdel Fattah Al-Burhan, seized power on October 25, 2021, and overthrew the civilian government that took over the reins of power following the toppling of the former president, Omar Al-Bashir, in 2019.
In addition, frustrated army officers in Burkina Faso have carried out two coups this year in a show of anger at failures to control the insurgency. The first, in January, saw a military junta led by Lieutenant-Colonel Paul-Henri Sandaogo Damiba overthrow elected President Roch Marc Christian Kabore. The second, in September, saw Captain Ibrahim Traore come to power as he and his supporters ousted Damiba.
