Gambian Government Says Has Foiled Coup Attempt

Muhammad Irfan Published December 21, 2022 | 08:35 PM

Gambia's government on Wednesday said it had thwarted a coup attempt the previous day and arrested four soldiers.

Banjul, Gambia, (APP - UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 21st Dec, 2022 ) :The Gambia's government on Wednesday said it had thwarted a coup attempt the previous day and arrested four soldiers.

"The situation is under total control," it added.

There was no immediate confirmation of the purported plot from other sources.

Scattered witness accounts reported soldier movements around the presidential headquarters in the centre of the capital Banjul on Tuesday evening, and rumours circulated during the night of a possible coup.

"Based on intelligence reports that some soldiers of the Gambian army were plotting to overthrow the democratically elected government of President Adama Barrow, the (armed forces) in a swift military operation conducted yesterday arrested four soldiers linked to this alleged coup plot," the government said.

"The apprehended soldiers are currently helping the military police with their investigations.

"Meanwhile, the army is in pursuit of three more alleged accomplices."The tiny West African state is a fragile democracy, still scarred by a brutal 22-year dictatorship under Yahya Jammeh.