Gambia Leader Replaces Minister With Coup Plotter

BANJUL, Gambia, (APP - UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News -19th Sept,2016) - Gambian President Yahya Jammeh has fired his interior minister and replaced him with a military officer previously convicted of plotting a coup against him, in the latest unpredictable move from the west African strongman.

A press release read over state television on Sunday night said longtime minister Ousman Sonko would be replaced "with immediate effect" by Momodou Alieu Bah, who helped mount a 2006 coup against Jammeh.

Jammeh has fended off several attempted coups since coming to power in 1994 via the same method. Bah had previously served as finance director for the Gambia's armed forces, and hails from Lamin, a village close to the capital, Banjul.

He was sentenced to 25 years in jail in 2006 following the attempted overthrow but granted amnesty in 2010 after he testified during the trial of the chief of defence staff of the Gambia Armed Forces, Lieutenant General Lang Tombong Tamba.