The Chairperson of the African Union Commission, Moussa Faki Mahamat, has condemned the reported attempted coup attempt in the Gambia.
In full support of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) statement, and in conformity with the 2000 Lomé Declaration, the African Charter on Democracy, Elections & Governance and the Accra Declaration on Unconstitutional Changes of Government, the Chairperson furthermore strongly rejects any attempt at the unconstitutional change of government in the Gambia or any other Member State.
The chairperson reaffirmed the continued and unwavering support of the African Union to the government and people of the Gambia.
Four soldiers arrested
Gambian authorities said on Wednesday that they have foiled a military coup attempt and arrested four soldiers plotting to overthrow President Adama Barrow’s administration, the government said on Wednesday.
The Gambian military arrested four soldiers linked to the alleged coup after a military operation on Tuesday, it said in a statement.
Coup attempts are not uncommon in The Gambia, a tiny West African country of 2.5 million almost entirely surrounded by Senegal, which is still reeling from more than 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.
Barrow’s win was widely viewed as a boost for democracy, although there has been growing frustration with his government for its failure to address poverty and rising living costs.
“Based on intelligence reports … some soldiers of the Gambian army were plotting to overthrow the democratically elected government,” the government said on Wednesday.
The army is in pursuit of three other alleged accomplices and investigations are continuing, it added.
There were no details on whether the coup attempt was linked to the previous government.
Eight ex-soldiers, led by one of Jammeh’s former military aides, plotted to overthrow Barrow the year after he came to power. They were sentenced to jail in 2019 on treason and conspiracy charges they denied.
